Never tried this. Maybe on a Sunday morning when I'm feeling adventurous.
Bacon-infused bourbon old fashioned with maple syrup
How about an Old Fashioned, but one with maple syrup in place of simple syrup, bourbon in place of the rye so popular in these parts, and let's infuse the bourbon with...bacon.
"Bacon and maple syrup go together so well," enthuses food and beverage director Melanie Splatt, who notes that many of the recipes in a culinary smackdown held last Monday at the Drake successfully combined those two classic breakfast tastes. Bacon flavour may not suit everyone's drinking palate, but those who love the taste love it to, well, bits.
The drink is cribbed from the bar menu at PDT (short for Please Don't Tell) a famously discreet New York City hole-in-the-wall.
The Drake has modified PDT's original recipe, tripling the amount of bacon used for a fuller flavour. The Drake makes its own bacon in-house, but storebought will do the trick. Splatt says to follow the smoke. "The maple syrup already has kind of a smoky flavour to it and so does the bourbon so the more smoky (the bacon) is the more it complements the actual drink," says Splatt.
INGREDIENTS
12 strips bacon (enough to render 3-4 oz of fat)
26 oz bottle bourbon
DIRECTIONS
Fry bacon in frying pan, then pour off bacon fat into 2-litre empty bucket. Pour in entire bottle of bourbon; set bottle aside. Stir mixture, then allow to sit at room temperature for six hours. Place bucket in freezer for about two hours so that fats can separate from alcohol and become solid.
Remove fatty solids from top of mixture; this is the first filtration. Strain through coffee filter into empty bourbon bottle, using a funnel. Makes 12 2-oz drinks.
Splatt says that a "slightly unctuous mouthfeel" is desirable, but warns that you can have too much of a good thing. She suggests a third filtration, through a Brita filter (it's not just for water), if you find the fat too noticeable.
For the drink:
1/2 oz maple syrup
dash or two (to taste) of bitters
2 oz bacon-infused bourbon
1 orange twist to garnish
Place syrup and bitters in Old Fashioned glass. Add ice if desired. Add bourbon and garnish with twist. Makes 1 drink.
Bacon, will the uses for this wonderfood never cease?
Bacon-infused bourbon old fashioned with maple syrup
How about an Old Fashioned, but one with maple syrup in place of simple syrup, bourbon in place of the rye so popular in these parts, and let's infuse the bourbon with...bacon.
"Bacon and maple syrup go together so well," enthuses food and beverage director Melanie Splatt, who notes that many of the recipes in a culinary smackdown held last Monday at the Drake successfully combined those two classic breakfast tastes. Bacon flavour may not suit everyone's drinking palate, but those who love the taste love it to, well, bits.
The drink is cribbed from the bar menu at PDT (short for Please Don't Tell) a famously discreet New York City hole-in-the-wall.
The Drake has modified PDT's original recipe, tripling the amount of bacon used for a fuller flavour. The Drake makes its own bacon in-house, but storebought will do the trick. Splatt says to follow the smoke. "The maple syrup already has kind of a smoky flavour to it and so does the bourbon so the more smoky (the bacon) is the more it complements the actual drink," says Splatt.
INGREDIENTS
12 strips bacon (enough to render 3-4 oz of fat)
26 oz bottle bourbon
DIRECTIONS
Fry bacon in frying pan, then pour off bacon fat into 2-litre empty bucket. Pour in entire bottle of bourbon; set bottle aside. Stir mixture, then allow to sit at room temperature for six hours. Place bucket in freezer for about two hours so that fats can separate from alcohol and become solid.
Remove fatty solids from top of mixture; this is the first filtration. Strain through coffee filter into empty bourbon bottle, using a funnel. Makes 12 2-oz drinks.
Splatt says that a "slightly unctuous mouthfeel" is desirable, but warns that you can have too much of a good thing. She suggests a third filtration, through a Brita filter (it's not just for water), if you find the fat too noticeable.
For the drink:
1/2 oz maple syrup
dash or two (to taste) of bitters
2 oz bacon-infused bourbon
1 orange twist to garnish
Place syrup and bitters in Old Fashioned glass. Add ice if desired. Add bourbon and garnish with twist. Makes 1 drink.
Bacon, will the uses for this wonderfood never cease?