The Palate That Could

Yesterday my friend Ramin and I threw down some Magic Dogs for dinner. For those unfamiliar with the newspaper publicity of Rusty's Magic Dog, you can check it out here.

So, with the organic dogs and rolls and all the delicious toppings, Sierra Nevada Porter Spicy Brown mustard is a KEY ingredient. As Ramin and I were devouring the dogs, something was off. I immediately noticed it. It was the mustard!

Did they change the recipe, did it spoil?? what was the problem?? I've bought this stuff for almost 2 years through dozens of barbecues... I've probably purchased 12 bottles of this stuff in the past 2 years and this bottle was NOT the same.

Well, there's only 1 way to find out... get Sierra Nevada on the line!

So, I called them on the phone today and a nice guy answers and asks me about the bottle and I read a code from the bottle off to him. He picks up a similarly coded bottle from his stash, from the exact same batch as mine.

He tastes it, then he shifted the conversation. "You have an amazing palate... consumers never even notice this slight difference in taste.  You must really be able to taste the difference in food, beer, and wine... pretty remarkable". 

He says the recipe has not changed, but the mustard mellows as it sits on the shelf. In the past 3 months, Boulder has been eating the heck out of this stuff, so it's fresher. And with the freshness, it's sharper and has a more pronounced horseradish flavor. 

I guess I didn't need Sierra Nevada to tell me I had an amazing palate, but there you go!

And he's going to send me a free bottle... one that's older to see if I notice the difference. 

Bam!