Have you ever made or tried bacon infused bourbon?

No, I never even heard of it. I like bourbon, and I love bacon. What is this thing?

I’ve heard of bacon vodka… i’d love to try either!

I’ve used bacon and beef jerky for specialty drinks, but never used bacon beyond the glass. Putting a smoky piece of bacon into a bottle of bourbon to sit for a while could work out very nicely.

In the case of drinks, one of my favorite for using a meat flavoring/garnish is in a Spaghetti Western, this is a combination if bourbon and tuaca (a sweetened Italian liqueur). The piece of bacon or jerky soaking in the glass added a nice subtle flavor and then was very tasty to eat at the end.

No, but I am now very interested in doing so!

Never heard of it, but you could put almost any word at the end of “bacon infused ____” and I’m all over it.

Oh lawd, I think I’m about to become an alcoholic again. A very happy, satisfied alcoholic.

I saw it on that show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (I think that’s what it’s called) on the Food Network, but I can’t remember exactly how it was done. The bottom line is that this guy cooked some bacon, and poured the fat into a container of bourbon, then allowed it to cool (maybe in the fridge?) for several hours, then scooped the congealed fat off the top. It sounds do-able, but I want to get it right!

as in, bourbon that tastes like bacon? what have I been doing all my life??? I need to find a bottle of this gift from god….

Well, how did I miss this question??

I make about a gallon of bacon infused bourbon each week for my bar here in Brooklyn.
The process is called fat washing and it’s based on the principal that alcohol takes on the flavour of fat. You’ve got the process mostly right. You render bacon for it’s fat (grease) and mix it with the bourbon. It doesn’t need to infuse for long. Eight hours or so will do. Then let the fat rise to the top and chill it down (freezer) so the fat cap becomes solid. Then just scrape off the fat and, while it’s cold strain it through a coffee filter. Et Voila! Bacon Bourbon!

The thing is… you need really good bacon. I’m lucky; We cure and smoke about two pork bellies a week for our menu, so I’m left with some really good Berkshire pork bacon fat. Do you have a Whole Foods near you? They have a double smoked bacon at their meat counter that will work great. Products like Oscar Meyer shouldn’t be used. No flavour really…

Lately I’ve been adding some smoked pork skin (from the bellies) to the infusion. This last batch was superb!! Salty, smoky, bourbon-y. I mix it with local, organic maple syrup and rim the glass with some pork “cracklin’” dust (think margarita salt) and we call it the Glazed Ham.

Oh yeah, I use Jim Beam as my base Bourbon. Pretty neutal flavors, but still good quality.

Good luck in your mixology. or you could always just come to my bar in bklyn to see how it’s done properly

@breedmitch Thanks for the great answer. I’m in Brooklyn too… where is your bar?

Park Slope. brookvin.com