Skip to main content

You’ll Be Barking All Summer Long for Booze Dogs

booze dogs lineup
Booze Dogs

When you think of the words “booze dogs,” one thing probably comes to mind: Saint Bernards. You’re not wrong to think of those Alpine heroes, but there’s a new association you can make when you hear that phrase — and we think you’re going to like it.

Booze Dogs, a relatively new company based in Greenville, North Carolina (and winner of a 2018 FedEx Small Business Grant), makes liquor-infused bratwursts. They’re available now and they’re perfect for any summertime activities you might be engaging in.

booze dogs mr hughes
Booze Dogs/Facebook

The company is run under the guise of Mr. Hughes, a dapper AF boxer who just wants the world to enjoy good smoked meats (who also happens to be the pet of real Booze Dogs owner Joe McGowen).

Recommended Videos

Booze Dogs come in three different flavors: Jolly Rover Rum, Prime Ginister, and Bourbon Bluetick.  All Booze Dog brats are made with pork and smoked in small batches after being marinated in actual spirits. They are pre-cooked, which means all you need to do is thaw’ em out and pop’ em on the grill (or however you’re cooking them).

booze dogs lineup taste
Booze Dogs

From the outset, you can tell these dogs have booze in them. The nose upon opening the packages isn’t overwhelming, but it is there. This carries through cooking and, of course, eating them. Never is the taste overpowering — with fake flavors, or when food has been soaked too long in alcohol, you run the risk of that being the dominant seasoning. Instead, the boozy taste blends with that of the smoked pork for a pleasant experience from one end of the brat to the other.

Of the three flavors, our favorite was, by far, the bourbon. With a nice smoky body, these dogs were great with just a swizzle of spicy brown mustard on a lightly toasted bun. The rum came in next, thanks to a hint of sweetness and molasses that was accentuated by some baked beans. The gin, we admit, we were hesitant about (who thinks to pair pork with gin, after all?), but were pleasantly surprised with the lemony notes and some herbal flavors that played off the smoked pork. We served the Prime Ginister dogs sliced in a pineapple fried rice. No matter what flavor you get, you’ll be in for a treat.

For the philanthropic folks out there, a portion of all sales is donated to Best Friends Animal Society for the well-being of Mr. Hughes’ (and man’s) best friends.

You can buy Booze Dogs online here.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
How to make a nutritious smoothie you’ll actually want to drink
This guide will give you more insight than you ever thought you could have on smoothies
Man preparing a breakfast smoothie in the kitchen

We've all experienced it. That moment where your partner or friend hands you a glass of some sort of unidentifiable, brownish-green, lumpy goo they call a smoothie -- expecting you to guzzle it down with delight. Not to hurt their feelings, you do, holding back tears and your gag reflex.

A huge misconception out there is that you can blend up any combination of healthy ingredients and expect the result to taste like a smoothie from your favorite local juice bar. Sadly, this is not the case. Like with any food recipe, smoothies need to follow specific guidelines to get the best end product. You also need to add ingredients with complementary flavors.

Read more
Our mashed potato recipe is the only one you’ll ever need (and it’s easy to memorize, too!)
This mashed potato recipe is, dare we say, perfect
Mashed potatoes

It's no secret that mashed potatoes are every bit as much the star of the Thanksgiving table as the turkey. Perhaps even more so in some cases. After all, mashed potatoes are the harbinger of gravy, which, let's be real, is the actual star of the show. As important as they are, though, mashed potatoes can come with some unappetizing setbacks. If your mashed potato recipe is not executed perfectly, this Thanksgiving favorite can be lumpy or gluey, underseasoned and bland, too runny or too stiff. For such a simple dish, it certainly carries its fair share of potential pitfalls.

With this simple mashed potato recipe and method, though, perfect, Michelin-quality mashed potatoes can be easily achieved every single time. The best part? It's extremely simple to remember, so there's no need to bring out the crowded recipe box for this one. The ratio for perfect mashed potatoes is 4 parts Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 part heavy cream, and 1 part European butter. We love this simple 4:1:1 ratio because it's also easily scaled up or down, depending on the size of your gathering. For example, if you have 500 grams of potatoes, you'll use 125 grams of both cream and butter.

Read more
Once you’ve made homemade croutons, you’ll kick yourself for ever buying the grocery store version
It's so easy!
Croutons

If we're honest, croutons are the best part of a salad. The crispy, buttery, herby, carby crunch is, quite frankly, the only thing that can sometimes get us through an otherwise humdrum salad. And then, of course, there's the magic spell croutons can cast over soups, taking a boring bisque to all new levels and adding a satisfying bite with that beloved crunchy texture. Yes, croutons are wonderful for the added character they provide to just about any "healthy" meal. They're our tasty little life rafts in a boring sea of healthy foods, and we are grateful. And because these beautiful little cubes do so much for our dishes, both lackluster and magnificent, we owe it to them to treat them well. Not with the store-bought foil packets found next to the candied pecans on sad little grocery store displays, but with homemade love and care.
Homemade croutons are almost embarrassingly simple to make. Not only that, but they're a great way to use up any extra bread you have lying around that may have gone a bit stale. Instead of throwing that loaf away, cut it up, toss it with a little oil and herbs, bake, and voila - homemade croutons. It really is that simple, and once you make these crunchy cuties at home, you'll never go back to buying the packaged version.

Homemade croutons recipe
Ingredients:

Read more