How to Get Your Own Masters Chilli Cheese Sandwich
There’s not much to take away from how the pandemic has ravaged the sports world, but there was this: the taste of the masters. When the Masters was forced to take place without patrons present, Augusta National’s brain trust had a brilliant idea to bring the Masters to people, at least in the form of food.
The Taste of the Masters offers a range of classic Masters food products, packaged for you and a dozen of your closest friends. Let’s break it down.
According to the official Taste of the Masters website, the total package — available for $175 including shipping — will include:
Egg salad (24 oz)
Chilli Cheese (24oz)
Pork Bar-B-Que (24oz)
Plain Potato Chips (6)
Bar-B-Que Potato Chips (6)
Cookies (12)
Masters brand souvenir cups (sleeve of 25)
Masters brand wax paper (12 sheet sleeve)
Masters Coasters (pack of 12)
Hosting Kit Hardware
Your eyes will be drawn to Pimento cheese, the standard-bearer of master cuisine. But don’t sleep on the real MVP of this pack: the 25 souvenir cups. These are some of the finest American summer barbecue status symbols you’ll ever find, and if you’ve got a cupboard full of them, my friend, you’re good to go for years to come. Menus can also be framed, as long as you don’t pour too much cheese or barbecue sauce on them.
I’ve spent a lot of time consuming these various foods in their native habitats, so let me offer some options for Frankenstein, your way to delights beyond the standard offerings:
Spread chili cheese on a hot bun and use it to top your pork barbecue sandwich. Pimento + pork BBQ = Augusta’s food-grade GOAT.
Throw some fries on top of the barbecue in your sandwich. The extra salty crunch is divine, and you don’t have to worry about upsetting someone’s putt when you bite down.
You just have to make yourself an Arnold Palmer – iced tea and lemonade, of course – in one of the souvenir mugs. The Masters even tacitly approve of such a creation, as you can see in the photo above.
Another, more secretive and highly unofficial drink from the masters: “Stand 12”, a combination of pink lemonade and blue “sports drink”, with a splash of “lemon-lime soda” in between. Dealers will no longer do Stand 12 – named after the food stand overlooking Amen Corner – but that shouldn’t stop you from doing it yourself.
Lovingly spread the egg salad on white bread, admire the color and texture…then toss it out the nearest window. This is not a reflection on Augusta National’s variation on egg salad. I have publicly stated that I hate egg salad in general, so keep that in mind. If you must eat it, drizzle it with hot sauce and you’ll be good to go.
For a complete overview of all Masters food offerings, including those included in Taste of Masters, check out our official power rankings from 2022 here.
Not included in Taste of the Masters: bread, for obvious reasons. Find standard white bread for the Chilli Cheese and Egg Salad sandwiches, and standard hamburger bun for the barbecue.
Also not included: drinks. Augusta National serves recognizable brands of beer and soft drinks, but without the brand names, so you can do the same. Your guests will grab their Diet Cola or home brew and love it.
Also not included: the chorus of bird sounds that accompanies your every bite along the way. Launch the hour-long version of the Masters theme for a similar effect.
Unfortunately not included: the legendary peach ice cream sandwich, simply the best item ever to come out of the pine woods at Augusta National. You can try recreating it with cookies and your own ice cream, but that’ll be like pretending a putt-putt course is as good as Augusta’s 18.
If you want to get your own Taste of the Masters, jump on it ASAP. These beauties are selling out, and the only way to get your real Masters Chilli Cheese Sandwich is to get to Augusta and enter the gates. And it will cost you much more than $175.