The Patriot Brands Jerky - Little Smokies

The Patriot Brands Beef Jerky is a new brand that launched in February of 2018 by James Napier of Cuba, MO. The company also markets a line of hot sauces under the same brand.

Napier seems well-known and well-liked by many as a patriot with his beard dyed red, white, and blue. The name "Patriot Brands" stems from his overwhelming support of the United States and the people who have fought for it. He's associated with "The Patriot Church", a congregation also based out of Cuba, MO.

These "Little Smokies" flavor are summed as, "Beyond Original", going on to say it's, "A great barrier blast of wonderful flavoring", and, "pure artisan craftsmanship about a half inch think and 8 inches long."

Ingredients

Pork, beef, water, salt, spices, dextrose, garlic powder, lactic acid, sodium nitrite

Review

The first flavors that come into view is a light salt followed by a touch of tang. The chewing brings on a cured meat flavor, while the salt and tanginess builds. Hints of garlic ensue while the tanginess migrates towards a vinegar-like profile.

For being described as, "beyond original", these sticks are substantially more thick, more firmly packed, and chew with more meaty, beefy texture than other brands sausage snacks. Each bite offers a great deal of chewing satisfaction, almost to the point of resembling a steak. The casing offers a light bit of snap to the bite. There's a light bit of oil that remains on the fingertips, but these sticks are not greasy like most national brands. Certainly, the more beefy size and chewing is right up there with other "bigger is better" American stalwarts like Chevy 454s and all you can eat lobster buffets, and thus better represents The Patriot Brands' nationalist focus.

Flavorwise, however, it's not necessarily beyond original. I don't really taste any smoke flavor, despite the "Little Smokies" name. If anything truly defines this flavor over other competing brands of sticks, it's more tangy, has a more vinegar-like profile, though offers more natural meat flavors. It still has a taste profile comparable to many other gourmet brands we've reviewed, so technically, I'd pass on the "beyond original" claims, but do admit that when you combine it with the thick, meaty chewing, these sticks are indeed beyond the competition.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a beefy, natural meat flavor, but with a prominent tanginess, resembling almost that of vinegar, touched off with a moderate salt and wee bits of garlic.

Verdict

More firmly packed than a New York subway, and with a circumference as thick as Wilford Brimley's forefinger, these Little Smokies from The Patriot Brands are hardly little. They feel more weighty than competing brands thanks to its thicker size, and chew much more firm and meaty. Your jaw muscles will actually get a work out eating this stuff. Flavorwise, these have more natural meat flavor being more substantial in thickness, but otherwise taste very comparable to competing artisan brands. If anything, they're more tangy than most. But in the way that Americans love everything super-sized, and more hard core than the last, these extra-thick sausage snacks from The Patriot Brands play into our love affair with all that is manly and abundant. This is not a kids' chew, but meat for the American man.

Rating: Good (4/5)