Jumping on the nontraditional sauce trend, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Wednesday debuted the Midnight Moonshine burger, an Angus burger topped with a moonshine-flavored glaze.
“Branded, alcohol-flavored menu items have been popular in sit-down restaurants for a number of years now, but Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s were the first to bring them to the fast food industry,” said the brands’ Chief Marketing Officer Brad Haley, noting that the chains had previously tried bourbon and beer flavorings but were inspired by the “rapidly rising popularity” of moonshine.
The sandwich was created in collaboration with Midnight Moon Moonshine, said CKE Restaurants, franchisor of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.
The new burger will be promoted with a “dark and moody” campaign called “Making ‘Shine,” featuring an unnamed celebrity, the franchisor said. The burger sells solo for $4.39, or as part of a combo meal for $6.89.
Nontraditional sauces have been taking center stage of late, as Buffalo Wild Wings debuted a limited-time sauce incorporating Mountain Dew late last year.
Also in the vein of high-octane beverages, Atlanta’s Turner Field announced it will serve a sandwich featuring barbecue sauce infused with Monster energy drink this baseball season.
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