The Miksologist

I recently came across a recipe for some fat-washed bacon bourbon. That is a fancy way of saying “bacon infused bourbon.” Fat washing is a way of using, well, fat (butter, actual animal fat, oil) to impart new dimensions to a base spirit. Not only does fat washing add depth of flavor, but it can also play with the texture and mouthfeel of the spirit. Plus it is a fantastic way of bringing savory flavors into your cocktails.

Want to know how to do it? It sounds difficult, but its really not.

• Take a fat (in liquid form),
• infuse it into the spirit for 4-ish hours at room temperature,
• then stick the vessel[s] into the freezer for another 2 hours.
• Once the fat solidifies at the top, strain the liquid several times, and boom. Done. Keep it in your fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.

I’ve heard that with other spirits and fats the infusing/freezing process times can vary, so this calls for more research. For, umm… science!

Once I had the fat-washed bourbon, I had to use it, obviously. I took to my standby cocktail, the Old Fashioned, and decided to tinker with it. Bacon and maple go well with each other, so swapping out the sugar for some maple syrup* was obvious. I kept the Angostura bitters for my first go around but I will probably substitute them out for something else. This is basically a waffle, so maybe chocolate bitters? Hmm, will have to look into this.

Obviously ratios can and should be adjusted for taste, but this is what I went with:

• 2oz bacon washed bourbon
• 1/4oz maple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in mixing glass, add ice, stir. Strain into glass. Garnish with candied bacon. Enjoy!

Finally, a note on what kind of base spirit to use. For this go around I used a bottle of Buffalo Trace. I wouldn’t really use a more expensive bottle for this endeavor, but I also wouldn’t cut corners and go bottom shelf.

*The real stuff. Nothing against Aunt Jemima, but this is above her pay grade.