Wendy's built its business on the back of its 1984 "Where's the Beef?" marketing campaign. In those iconic ads, three elderly women look at a very large burger bun before one picks up the bun, exposing a very small burger. That leads to actress Clara Peller uttering the immortal "Where's the Beef?" tagline.
Those ads did not launch Peller to stardom; her only other credits were a 1985 episode of Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" and the mildly raunchy PG-13 traffic school film "Moving Violations."
But they did establish Wendy's as the fast-food chain with the beefiest burgers. That's something the company has leaned into in recent years by marketing all its special limited-time-offer burgers in double and triple versions.
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In recent years, Wendy's (WEN) has built out its Baconator around the idea of fresh beef, multiple burger patties, and lots of bacon. Now, the company has brought a fan-favorite variation of that sandwich -- the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger line -- back to its menu nationwide.
Wendy's Canada/TS
Wendy's Brings Back the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger
The Wendy's Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger first appeared in 2021 as a limited-time offer, part of the chain's "Made to Crave" line of sandwiches.
"Made to Crave is built around bringing unforgettable, diverse flavors you wouldn’t expect from a fast-food restaurant’s core menu," Wendy's' culinary innovations vice president, John Li, posted on the chain's blog. "It’s where my team’s passion for food can shine and their culinary imaginations run free."
The Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger joined the chain's menu in summer 2021 and was gone before fall. Now, it's back with the same recipe it did the first time.
"A quarter-pound of fresh, never-frozen beef topped with Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, crispy onions, and a sweet, smoky bourbon bacon sauce that is, essentially, a sauce made with real bourbon and real bacon," Wendy's said on its website.
The burger is available with a single, double or triple hamburger patty. Even the single version is a bit of a belly bomb as it packs in 730 calories while the double has 990, while the triple has 1,300. A classic Baconator, which has two patties, comes in at 960 calories.
Wendy's' Recipe for Bacon and Beef
Wendy's has built its brand around its signature square never-frozen burger patties. That, according to company legend, comes from Founder Dave Thomas's childhood role model, his grandmother Minnie, "who told him to never cut corners," according to the company blog.
That may be true (or well-intentioned folklore), but that chain still uses square burgers that have never been frozen. When it comes to its latest limited-time offer, Li thinks that it's not just the hamburger patty that's the star of the returning Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger. He believes the bacon is the key.
"It’s another ingredient we’ve skillfully mastered and something worth bragging about: smoked over the wood of apple trees and cooked fresh daily in our ovens -- for the perfect crisp and the way all bacon deserves to be cooked -- it imparts the perfect hit of salty and sweet that you can’t beat," he said.
The Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger has been added to Wendy's website and should be available nationwide, but the chain has not yet outlined its plans for the rollout. Wendy's claims to sell more bacon cheeseburgers than any other U.S. chain.
