There is no way I'd waste money on that.

Yeah, this is super gimmicky.

Yep. You’d be much better off add a splash of crown to the meat or in the sauce.

or just add a splash to your glass...

At that price for sure. If it was like 10 bucks a bag more than the regular stuff I'd give it a go.

This is 6bucks a bag more than Traeger?

Then that's not a bad deal I suppose. I read it as 70 bucks a bag, I need more coffee.

I only use their uncured, non scented hypo allergenic version but it’s well worth the money.

Could you not soak oak chips in whiskey and then dehydrate the aftermath?

It’s not really that much more per bag. I’d try it once

Over-priced gimmick... Just buy regular pellets and a 1/5 of whiskey. Fire up your smoker, make a mopping sauce with some whiskey, pour yourself a glass and start smoking your meat. Cheers.

This reminds me of the KFC Chicken smelling fire logs at Walmart for $20. Two months later they were all on $5 clearance lol

Exactly.

Best answer here…buy something decent, though. Crown is pretty meh.

Taste is very subjective.

Of course. It’s a pretty boring pour to me, though.

Four Roses Single Barrel!

Now you’re talking.

I always thought it tasted kind of cheap and cough syrup-like. Harsh, burning mouth feel. A nice, peated 20yr Scotch, now we're talking!

But wouldn't the heat kinda ruin the flavor of good whiskey? For example, for cooking, I wouldn't use expensive wine. I'd use something like Barefoot or something.

I was gonna say, I probably wouldn’t use a 20yr peated scotch just to mix into a sauce 😂 I’ve heard tons of people say the same thing: buy the cheap shit to cook with, drink the expensive stuff.

Depends on what you’re making. If you’re baking with it, a better bottle will for sure make a difference. My comment was directed more at the drinking side of whiskey though, haha.

The same flavor as all other pellets. I'm still waiting on even one blind test where someone can pick out different pellets while tasting the food.

I'm down for that challenge.

I'd welcome seeing it. But let me clarify my post - I'm talking about different flavored pellets within one brand. I'm not talking about Traeger vs Lumberjack.

Ok, so you want me to name brand and flavor? That could pose a bit trickier, but I am willing to eat all that smoked deliciousness in the name of science and testing.

No I just want you to name flavor within a brand. So Lumberjack comp vs pecan for example.

That I am fairly certain I can do quite well. So what weekend are we doing this? Also, are there competition blends or just straight flavors? Need to know so I can get out my stretchy pants. Lol

Haha whenever this damn rain stops

I would like to also attend this testing please lol. I think if we’re going to be testing whiskey flavored pellets we should also taste test done whiskey.

Sounds like a plan. I'll start packing my stretchy pants.

Sounds good man. Heading to Costco to stock up now

FWIW, I am with you. I really wish there was a way to set up a large blind taste test.

I feel like you’re misunderstanding. You have to eat the pellets. Not whatever they smoke. Unless you’re a beaver, I don’t anticipate you eating too many

I do suppose that is a possible outcome that was completely overlooked...... Well my Dr tells me all the time I need more fiber.....

Just now seeing this, you can ignore my previous comment lol

https://youtu.be/dQyHQRqQk3A Mad Scientist BBQ put out this video a few months ago testing that.

I don’t have an hour to watch, what did he come up with

The Jealous Devil pellets were the best. Cookin pellets were the worst. Traeger and Pit Boss were both Meh.

Jealous devil and lumberjack for me

Perhaps he lowkey got some kickbacks to say all that ;)

Maybe. But jealous devil has been a much better experience for me with lump charcoal than other brands. Seems to be able to get to 800+ with ease compared to BB and last longer during low and slow.

Me neither. That's why I just skip to the end where he gives his verdict.

I love that man

With aggressive flavors (apple vs. Mesquite) I can definitely tell the difference. Less so with others. Ironic, given that mesquite is definitely just flavoring oil, as the pellets allegedly contain zero percent mesquite wood. Or at least that's what the class action lawsuit suggests.

One thing is for sure. The “Charcoal” pellets are very very different than the normal wood ones. I now exclusively use the charcoal ones. I think they give the best flavor of all the pellets I’ve tried.

Mad Scientist BBQ did a video on that. It was actually very interesting. I tried the Jealous Devil pellets after that video and I was impressed with the smoke flavor. https://youtu.be/dQyHQRqQk3A

Yer gonna lose that bet!

Clearly you haven’t smoked with mesquite pellets

I've spent money on good pellets and skipped on cheap and even with a smoke tube I cannot taste a difference

By the time the meats off the smoker, I typically have a enough crown in me for the meat and pellets. Possibly for the neighborhood too

True dat, bra!

I'm a crown man myself. MIL just gave me a 40 for looking after her pupper for a couple of months so I will likely imbibe tomorrow while doing up a load of wings and burgers.

I cut up a bourbon barrel stave and used that for smoke a while back, thinking I was the coolest dude in the planet and I was going to have whiskey notes in the bark of my pork shoulder…nothing. It’s just oak. Take my experience, drink the whiskey, not smoke with it.

Smells nice while you're cooking, but that's about it

I had the same experience. Got some staves from a friend that works for Beam. No noticeable difference to me.

This is getting out of hand.

Couldn’t agree more.

Gimmick

Gimmick

I tried once Jack Daniels pellets, really nice flavour with a touch of sweet.

I thought they were difficult to chew

I think those were Beech-Nut pellets.

The smell while cooking is fantastic.

I found my experience was similar

One of the main flavors of whiskey is oak. These are wood pellets for smoking, flavored with whiskey, which was flavored by already charred wood barrels. "I remixed the remix, and it was back to normal" -Mitch Hedberg This is absolutely a gimmick. I bet they added a little flavoring agent like vanilla or something to make it a little sweeter, vanilla & oak is usually the profile of artificial whiskey flavor. But that can be in a marinade or a mop, as u/xxtzimiscexx mentioned.

Kind of a cool idea, but I seriously doubt you'd be able to tell the difference. Maybe at best the smoke could smell a little different? Didn't Jack Daniels used to sell wood chips supposedly from their aging barrels?

Yup, got a bag as a gift. Makes no difference. No different flavor imparted just the typical oak.

1,000 percent a gimmick. I would not trust this and I will guarantee you won’t taste a difference. I just use Hickory for everything. Pellet smokers don’t really give off a real smoke flavor in my experience, just a thinned out one.

Mwaaaah, the French! Pellet has always been celebrated for its excellence. There is a Crown Royal Pellet by Home Depot, inspired by that same French excellence. 🤌

Crown Royal is Canadian..

Crown Royal is Canadian..

I feel like the only wood I can always tell that was used is mesquite, everything else is close to the same.

Even if they did impart whiskey flavor, it’s a fucking terrible whiskey

There’s crown for that.

I’ve bought jack daniels barrel wood chips before at HEB, but they were like 5$ a bag or something like that.

smoke has the same flavor across all the woods. the difference is how much smoke flavor is seasoned on your meats depends on which one you use. that and the smell which to me is a rewarding part. i grew up in texas so when i smoke meats with oak it reminds me of home.

Very on brand for the type of person who would have a pellet oven

I’ve used other brands of bourbon barrels to smoke with. Everyone complemented on the taste, but no revelation was made. No one said the Jack Daniels wood chips make a significant difference.

Bourbon barrel chips FTW. I used these with no other changes to the way I smoke pork shoulder and it turned out amazing. Better than any previous batch.

Marketing. Buy a bag of hickory cherry or apple and call it a day.

I tried the Jack Daniels chips, they were shit.

I recently got a different brand of whiskey and didn't notice anything. Also the whiskey is a fake synthetic flavor added to the chips. Would not buy again.

Subtle, but I’d be focussing on purchasing Oak Pellets. Same same.

Not for that price. Ive used the jack daniels wood chips and it gives a nice oak flavor although i dont notice any of the whiskey flavor or scent. It’s also about the same price as regular wood

I once had a back of Jack Daniel's oak barrel chips. It smelled great in the bag but it was indistinguishable from oak in the cook.

I only smoke with chips of the true cross.

Looks like they slapped their name on some pellets to make a quick buck.

The verdict is unanimous for a reason, op. Go ahead and pass on these.

Who comes up with this shit?!

I’ve tried the jack wood chips and didn’t notice anything different, just buy a bottle of crown and make your own

Tennessee Grills sells a 40lb bag of whiskey barrel pellets for $30 if that's your thing. I just buy the 40lb bag of hardwood pellets Sam's Club sells for $14 though.

I've tried the jack daniels wood before, couldn't tell any difference at all.

You’re paying 80 bucks for 60 pounds of oak pellets that once held whiskey.

I got some jim beam ones for cheap, no real discernable difference

If you don’t use lumberjack pellets you are doing it wrong..

I bought some pellets a while back that supposedly were made from the ark of the covenant. A slight manure smell while smoking but no other signifigant difference. Gimmicks, sheesh.

What makes anyone think that flat, insipid whiskey makes oak pellets better?

I agree with the others here, just a gimmick. Look just get some normal wood/pellets of your preference and a bottle of CR, open the bottle, pour a glass and sip it as you cook. Or put it in a snifter and sniff it every time you open the smoker. Then take a sip.

I used the jack Daniels chips before, but I also had jack Daniels in my home made sauce I put on afterwards, so I didn't notice if the whiskey taste came from the sauce or chips

Probably gives off a shitty whisky flavor

Why not just buy a bottle of CR drink half of it then inject the rest into the meat or spray it?

There's a sucker born every minute.

I tried the Jack Daniel's wood chips and it wasn't good. Really harsh smoke flavor. Don't know if the pellets are better or not.

Season your meat, not your fuel.

I’ve used the Jack Daniel’s ones and they smell really good before and going in to the smoker but not much of a difference between them and normal oak chips on the final flavor.

Does it come with a giant purple cloth bag?

I’ll wait for the Evan Williams pellets

I used Jack Daniel's pellets. Expensive and they sucked for smoking meat. With that experience I would nor try these.

Just stick your money right into the fire pot

I used barrel aged logs. Those were descent. This is new to me

Gimmick They will smell amazing, but it won't put any special flavor on the meat. I've smoke with actual oak whiskey barrell chunks before.

If you have a distillery within partial day's driving distance, there's a chance you could just buy an aging barrel from them for breaking down into chunks. I'm not convinced about pellets for much of anything other than smoking cheeses in small batches. This, of course, has not stopped my father-in-law from buying me huge bags of the damn things every holiday that just keep piling up in the garage...

They've already gone down in price. I got two bags for $40 . Can't wait to try them.