Drew v. Food IX: Doubling Up on Double Down

KFC Double-Down Sandwich

It has been many years since KFC’s Double-Down Sandwich last graced our village. But I have no intention of simply repeating reviews, no matter how much time has passed. So, in what I can only assume was a brazen and desperate — if successful — attempt to reappear on Damage Control, KFC overhauled it.

(Though I really shouldn’t be giving the company any press after it broke my heart with the KFConsole)

As such, this review remains rooted in the original. While the sandwich will still be evaluated on its own merits, the particular elements of it will be stated in comparison to the familiar first sandwich.

The new Double-Down features a LOT of extra chicken. The patties used for bread look to be nearly double twice the size they used to be, though the calorie count suggests a smaller increase.

While KFC has not updated its website with the nutrition facts about Double-Down 2.0, it does list a calorie count 35% higher than the original. Which already had well in excess of your entire daily recommended amount of sodium. Let’s just say it would satiate the electrolyte craving of a small farm. While I didn’t really taste the saltiness all that much in the moment, the next day its ghost lingered on my tongue.

Needless to say, trying the other version whose only difference is a spicy sauce instead of mayo is not in the cards until I get the all-clear from my primary care provider. Those 9 years since the first review were long, hard and consequential years for my constitution.

Though that would probably be the only way to find a sauce on the sandwich; like the original, it gets lost amid the partially melted cheese. The bacon, however, must have been bigger this time around; despite making up a much smaller proportion of the sandwich this time, I actually felt and tasted its presence while eating.

Overall, I wouldn’t call this better than its predecessor. The novelty is mostly intact, but this version is simply, comically too damn big.

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Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Brand Tennessee Whiskey Mixed With Coca-Cola

This canned mixer has a title mighty enough to vie with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abbadon. And while it’s long on title, it’s short on taste.

Generally, a canned mixer tends to be lower in alcohol content than one you would whip up yourself. At 7% ABV, it’s higher than most beers (if only just) and most comparable to malts, meaning you could knock back a few cans and not black out.

But the consequence is that the amount Jack Daniel’s used is so little it doesn’t contribute much to the taste. And while bourbon in general doesn’t explode in your mouth, this impotent potable still tastes far duller than it deserves to.