Bacon Bourbon

For all of you who know a man who likes bacon and a stiff cocktail, you should consider making some of this Bacon Bourbon.  Sean happened upon a bourbon tasting for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and he came home raving about bacon bourbon.  Today is Sean's bday, and I couldn't think of any better birthday gift than that!  So, yesterday, I went to talk to the shop owners to make sure I bought the correct bourbon and perfect bacon, and then got to work.

I watched this video several times yesterday while making the concoction.

Here is the gist of it if you are interested...

1.  Buy the supplies!  Having really good bacon is the key.  I bought double smoked bacon in a slab and had the butcher cut it for me.  The man at the liquor shop used a one litre bottle of Evan Williams bourbon for his, so I followed his lead.

2.  Cook the bacon VERY slowly.  2 hours was suggested to me.  Being as impatient as I am, I only cooked it for about 1.5 hours.  It is important to not burn the bacon.  I used ~8 pieces, following the suggestion I received.

3.  Dump the litre bottle of bourbon and the bacon fat into a container.  (I used about 2.5 oz. fat which is what my 8 slices produced, but the PDT instructions say to use 1 oz.)  Let it sit for 4 hours.

4.  After the 4 hours, place the mixture into the freezer.  This will allow the fat to solidify.
5.  After 2 hours, pour the mixture through a sieve with some coffee filters in it to act as a filter for the fat. (I probably should have filtered mine twice b/c I saw that a few tiny bits made it through the filter.)

 coffee filters in my sieve...

the solidified fat...

6.  Taste test!!

You can then use the bourbon to make a Benton's Old Fashioned - a drink served by PDT in NYC.

Benton's Old Fashioned
--2 oz. bacon bourbon 
--1/2 oz. good maple syrup
--two dashes Angostura bitters

Pour over ice and stir.  PDT used one huge, perfect cube of ice.  I must find ice trays to make those (if anyone knows where to get this, I am all ears!)  Apparently the ice won't melt as quickly if it is one big cube??

Sean tried a teeny sample this morning (minus the bitters) and he said it was really good.  I wish I could stomach bourbon, but I am not that tough.

This was a fun project, and if we can perfect it, I think it would be a fun thing to keep around the house to serve when guests come by.

We will be venturing out for cocktails and some seafood at Neptune Oyster in the North End tonight.  Looking forward to date night!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEAN!  We love you.