Ever since my pal, Chuck (he’s about to officially acquire the hyphenated name Chuck-of-Gumbo-Pages-Fame) introduced me to bacon-infused bourbon, I’ve been itching to give it a try. I’m not much of a bourbon drinker, but he recently made me an Old-Fashioned with his bacony bourbon, and I didn’t execute the taste-and-give-it-away maneuver I typically do with drinks made of amber spirits. Its porky aura beguiled and seduced me and held my interest through to the bottom of the glass.
So of course I had to make my own. Being a true Southerner, I keep a coffee can of bacon drippings at the ready for frying and flavoring and for just this kind of adventure. Incidentally, these drippings come from the really good smoked bacon I spirit away from Tennessee in my luggage when I return from home. None of that dreary, mass-produced bacon for me or my coffee can!)
Mmmmmm, pure bacon drippings.I wonder if you could read the porky dreck in bacon drippings
the way a fortune teller reads tea leaves? Sorry, I digress…
So last night I followed Chuck’s advice and put about a tablespoon of bacon drippings (okay, okay, I used more) into a large jar with 750 ml. of Buffalo Trace, which he suggested as a great bourbon to pork up. Every hour for the next few hours I gave it a vigorous shake (I have a great action shot of Andy doing this, but he forbade me to include it… grrr…).
The bacon drippings work their magic. Just a few more hours to go...Then I stashed the mixture in the fridge overnight so that the fat would harden for easy separation. At least the waiting isn’t too long with this concoction, like it is when you’re making most other infusions. Still, when it comes to smoky pork, any wait is a long one.
Chilling the combo allowed the bacon drippings to solidify, so I could easilyfilter them out through a sieve lined with a couple of layers of cheesecloth.
This morning I strained the bourbon back into its original bottle and plastered onto said bottle a bacon strip bandaid (courtesy of Archie McPhee) to denote which has the essence de bacon.
Ta-dah! Bacon-infused bourbon.Now the fun begins as Andy and I hit the lab, a.k.a. the kitchen, to see what sorts of cocktails we can dream up using our lovely new porky friend. First is the Old Fashioned. This should go great with my bacon walnut fudge.
Bacon-infused bourbon. It’s not just for breakfast anymore!
i’m a lucky, lucky gorilla.