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.