Whiskey Hill Smokehouse - Saki Teri-Yaki

Whiskey Hill Smokehouse is a brand owned and operated by Whiskey Hill Smokehouse, LLC, based out of Hubbard, OR. The company also owns The Jerky Hut brand of jerky, along with Bakke Brothers Brand.

According to the company, the Whiskey Hill Smokehouse brand focuses on exotic meats and more exotic recipes than The Jerky Hut and the Bakke Brothers lines. It also focuses on all natural ingredients and its jerky varieties are all marked as "Gluten Free".

This "Saki Teri-Yaki" is said to be a throwback to the days when teriyaki was made with real sake. These days, most other companies make teriyaki with mirin wine, or rice wine vinegar.

Ingredients

Beef, brown sugar, water, gluten free soy sauce, sake, molasses powder, salt, honey, natural flavoring, pineapple, garlic, onion, spices, sesame

Review

The first flavor I pick is the teriyaki sauce, with a fair amount of sweet and light salt. The chewing brings on a more defined teriyaki, with a clearly fermented flavor, while the natural meat flavors come in. There's a touch of garlic and onion noticeable.

For being marketed as a sake-infused teriyaki, there's clearly a more fermented flavor in this, just like what true, Japanese-style teriyaki is traditionally known for. The sake is lightly noticeable on its own, with touches of that rice-wine fermented profile. It mixes together well with the sweet and soy sauce to create a more Japanese steakhouse flavor. This teriyaki, however, doesn't have the ginger contrast that traditional teriyaki has.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a well-sweetened teriyaki sauce, with a strong ferment character, and touches of garlic and onion seasoning. The natural meat flavors come on towards the end.

The meat consistency is excellent. These are thick strips of pure meat with no signs of fat and no stringiness detected. The initial bites are chewy, yet are still easy enough to get through, but chew down to a steak-like, meaty texture. There's a faint bit of stickiness that remains on the fingers.

Verdict

This Saki-Teri-Yaki beef jerky from Whiskey Hill Smokehouse is a true throwback to the old days of Japanese-style steakhouses when teriyaki was made with real sake. This has that rich fermented flavor, with shades of that famous rice wine profile. It mixes in with the strong sweet and soy sauce ingredients to create that popular Japanese steak sauce that teriyaki fans today are longing to find. However, the thick slices of beef in this jerky adds to the experience by giving you a more meaty chew and steak-like feel. You get true, Japanese-style flavor, with thick manly cuts of meat, for a treat you'll rarely find elsewhere.

Rating: Best (5/5)

Where to buy:

• https://whiskeyhilljerky.com