Staff Blog
Fat ‘n’ Happy: Bacon Bourbon
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| Bacon, meet bourbon. You two are perfect for each other! |
Kurt Wunder has been pouring drinks for a long time. He’s heard it all.
But when a rumor of a cocktail so wrong it’s right — The Bacon
Old-Fashioned — crossed his bar, the owner of the 700 Club didn’t waste
any time worrying about spiritual morals. He just knew that he loved bourbon and he knew that he loved bacon. And now the twain should meet.
All
good rumors can be investigated on the Internet, and that is where
Wunder found a simple method for infusing bourbon with bacon fat. The
pig-enhanced potion became the basis of a modified Old-Fashioned that
included maple syrup in the role of sugar cube. Wunder admitted to
enjoying the resultant cocktail, but doesn’t plan on serving it at 700. “This is a little heavyhanded for me,” he says. “I’m
more into classic cocktails. Besides, I can only assume it’s legal.”
Bacon
is a short infusion — you can render it with your breakfast and and
be drinking bacon bourbon by happy hour. Make your own with a bottle of
cheap booze and a package of the nicest bacon you can afford. Bacon can
also be infused into vodka for a much stronger smoked-pig flavor,
though “nothing about bacon is subtle”, commented Wunder, “but the bourbon
did take on a subtle bacony flavor, which dissipated in just a few
days.”
Step by step instructions after the jump.
Getting a Pig Inside a Bottle, or, Bacon-Infused Bourbon
adapted from PDT, as published in New York Magazine on April 7, 2008
Step
One: Cook five strips of good bacon over low heat to render out all of
the fat. Keep the heat low; you are looking for maximum melt without
burning anything.
Step Two: Pour the bottle of bourbon (Kurt
used Heaven Hill) into a large, freezer-safe container with a lid.
Set aside the bacon strips; pour the hot fat into the container with
the bourbon.
Step Three: Lid the container tightly, and then
give it a vigorous shake. Allow to infuse on the counter for at least
two (and up to six) hours.
Step Four: Place the container in
the freezer. After half an hour, the bacon fat will have hardened on the
surface of the liquid and can be scooped off. Store the fat in a jar
in the fridge to sauté onions, mushrooms, croutons or mirepoix in
(assuming your cholesterol levels will tolerate it).
Step Five: Strain the baconized bourbon through a cheesecloth- or paper towel-lined funnel back into the bottle.
Check out PDT’s recipe for the Bacon Old-Fashioned here. Drink, marvel, oink, repeat.
No Bacon? I’ll settle for Bourbon.
This reminds me of a time I saw Jesus, in the form of a $5 plate of bacon, scribbled in chalk on a sandwich board outside of The Lyons Den on S. 2nd Street. When a friend and I went in and ordered a plate of said Savior Strips, the bartender laughed and asked if we were serious. Serious? As $5 plates of bacon induced heart attack!
What a sick joke.
So we settled for a Lager and a taste of Bookers, at For Petes Sake. Never will I set foot in the Lyons Den.
National Mechanics has Bacon Vodka, supposed to be wonderful in your Bloody Mary.
I wouldn’t know, I don’t drink alcohol unless it has scorpions or still-beating hearts inside of it.
Where can I get vodka with a still-beating heart in it? That’s a hell of a garnish!
Felicia! Thanks for letting us know about this marvel! xoxo