Tennessee Whiskey Marinade – How was it made?

Allegro’s Tennessee Whiskey Marinade is not only a fan favorite but also an employee favorite! Check out this interview with Andy Berry, a member of our R&D team, who played a vital role in the development of the Allegro’s Tennessee Whiskey Marinade.

Q: How was Allegro’s Tennessee Whiskey developed?

A: So, they came to [the R&D team] – we do product development, and they were like “Hey, we want a product using Tennessee Whiskey as the name and using Allegro Original as the base. That didn’t work. Some of the other products, yeah, we were able to do that with the Nashville Hot, with the Black Pepper, working from Allegro Original. But once we started trying to put bourbon and whiskey into Allegro Original, the flavor was crazy. So we started over, and it was basically just trial and error, using some of the same ingredients, but the process was going to have to be different, the ingredients were going to be completely different. So it was just trial and error, and we started with nothing on this one. We quickly went into “Well, it needs to be sweeter” so I just started pouring brown sugar in it.

Q: Is it a bold flavor?

A: It is. I mean, there’s almost a harshness to it. That’s why it’s got so much sugar in it to kind of balance that out and knock that harshness out that you’re getting with the bourbon, and the soy, and the salt. All of that is bold – good description for it. A lot of that is really upfront, so the sugar is kind of in there to give it some balance and not be too bold.

Q: What type of meat did you envision that it would be best on?

A: The way that flavor came out it works kind of on everything – beef, chicken, pork. I think it’s great on roast, brisket especially, and again, pork. I was just assuming steak was the primary objective for it, but it’s turned out to be more versatile.

Q: Is there actually any Tennessee Whiskey in it?

A: There is! Yes, we cannot call it Tennessee Whiskey according to state laws and FDA guidelines without having some Tennessee Whiskey in it, so there is some in there.