Bourbon and barbecue is becoming America's favorite combination

You can't go wrong with booze and barbecue.

SPONSOREDUpdated 1:13PM • 04/10/15

America has combined two great American flavors – bourbon and barbecue – for the next hottest food trend.

According to Datassential MenuTrends, bourbon barbecue can be found on 32 percent more restaurant menus now than four years ago and not just in the South and Midwest. The smoky and spicy sauce appears on more than 8 percent of menus in the Midwest, 7 percent in the South, 7 percent in the Northeast and more than 4 percent in the West.

Cincinnati-based Buffalo Wings & Rings, a 60-unit sports restaurant chain, is currently in the testing phase of a bourbon barbecue sauce for its chicken wings at select locations. Their special sauce combines a tomato base with molasses, brown sugar, peppers, onions, spices and bourbon.

“[The flavor] starts with heat, then sweet, then finishes with smoke,” said Elliot Jablonsky, executive chef of Buffalo Wings & Rings. “Bourbon definitely brings the smoke and kind of a wood flavor, like oak does to wine, in a good way.”

The reason for the spike in popularity of bourbon barbecue is the newness of the flavor.

“When you’ve been doing wings for years, it’s not that often that you can give people something a little more current,” he said.