Who Cooked It Better? The Bacon Cocktail
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Anyone can eat bacon for breakfast, but it takes a real man to drink bacon for breakfast. No, we’re not talking about licking bacon grease from the pan (actually, you might want to reserve some of that to rim the edge of the glass with). No kidding, folks–it’s the bacon cocktail.
This whole crazy thing started, as many crazy things do, in Vegas, at the Double Down Saloon. They claim to have invented the bacon martini: Bacon-infused vodka, Tabasco, olive juice, a lil bacon grease for the edge, and of course, a slice of bacon.
If you like your drunk breakfast more on the sweet side, head to the Capitol Club in Seattle. The vodka here is infused with candied bacon and mixed with Godiva chocolate liquor and splash of cream. Intense.
Over in New York, ultra-hip bar PDT whips up some bacon-infused bourbon, and mixes it with maple syrup, bitters, and a twist of orange to make their Benton’s Old Fashioned. Confused? Grub Street has a video of how it’s done.
Photos: CHOW, sparktography, dansays
I am SO going to try infusing some bourbon with bacon! What better way to celebrate our nation’s independence?
the idea of this is just so gross i can’t even vote.
These look really good, I have heard of bacon in bloody mary’s but nothing like this, can’t wait to have a go with one of these.
ugh…I refuse to vote on account I might vomit
Joe, I really like that look of that bacon-infused bourbon too, but what I really want to eat is that bourbon-infused piece of fat he strained off. Spread that baby on some toast points…. mmmmmm
Figured I’d update you on my attempt to create That Which I Didn’t Know That I Was Missing (aka Bacobourbon):
I had both bourbon and bacon grease sitting at home, just being awesome independently without any knowledge of each others’ presence. So I decided to introduce them and see what happened.
The verdict: inconclusive. On first taste, the bourbon really didn’t seem to pick up too much of the bacon flavor.
I’m wondering if that’s because I used Cedarbrook Farms bacon from the Dupont Market. They smoke their bacon but don’t cure it, so it doesn’t have any of the nitrates that commercial bacon does. It gives the bacon a much meatier (but less classically ‘bacon’) flavor, so it’s possible that the grease from it is less potent, as well.
The good news is that the bourbon is not ruined by any stretch of the imagination, so I may have to break down and pick up some store-bought bacon to give it another try.
I’ll keep you posted.
wow – way to get on the ball, JH! Let us know how round two goes!
In light of recent swine flu troubles, I call this……
THE QUARANTINI!
Bacon Bourbon .. and specifically that bacon old fashioned, is full of what I like to refer to as, the win.
The first time I heard of bacon infused whisk(e)y, I tried it with a friend and we made a terrible mess of various different bourbons and scotches. It was a damn shame. When we found that we had simply used far, far too much bacon fat, we were a bit relieved.
Since then I’ve followed the recipe used in the Benton’s old fashioned video, but generally with Knob Creek, and always with quality bacon. The best combination I’ve found so far was from D’artagnan wild boar bacon. I found it added smoke and mellowness to the sweetness of the bourbon, and darnit, if that old fashioned isn’t something special.