Bacon Booze: Bacontini & Other Delicious Baconized Beverages
Bacon is probably one of the best things to have ever been discovered in our universe. It is to man what the moon is to the earth – without it, we wouldn’t survive. Bacon on toast, bacon wrapped around meat, bacon diced into teeny tiny pieces and sprinkled on top of cheesy goodness. No matter how you use it, it pretty much makes the perfect concoction. So when it comes to your most beloved alcohol, why not infuse it with your favorite cured meat? If you haven’t had the delight of trying bacon with your mixed drinks, take a look at these recipes and prepare your taste buds for a gastronomically intense explosion.
1. The Bacontini
This classic drink deserves a classic incorporation. For those who aren’t too adventurous when it comes to trying new things, maybe sticking to something familiar for a first try is the best option. It’s as simple as making a regular martini with a slight flourish of bacon essence, otherwise known as the Bacontini. What’s not to love? Here’s how you do it:
Ingredients:
Dry Vermouth
2 ounces vodka, chilled
Directions: Pour a small amount of dry vermouth in a chilled martini glass and twirl to coat it. Pour out remaining liquid. Smooth the edge of your glass with bacon grease. Then in a shaker full of ice, stir vodka before straining it into the glass and simply garnish with a strip of un-crispy bacon. Viola!
2. Bacon-Infused Tequila
If you’re a tequila fan, then this is the one for you. It’s so straightforward that even the most inept cook can whip this up. Basically you take 1 bottle of tequila, a bit of bacon and put the two together. Seriously, how hard can it be? Here’s how you do it:
Ingredients:
Bacon
2 oz. bacon fat
1 bottle tequila
Directions:
To create this elementary mixture, together in a large jar, combine some fried bacon, 2 oz. bacon fat and the bottle of tequila. Close the lid up tight and store in the freezer for approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Once the wait is over, take the jar out and separate the thickened bacon fat from the now bacon infused tequila and you’re all set to go. If you enjoy being a little rosy cheeked first thing in the morning, then try this baby out for a quick breakfast bite. Maybe add some lemon wedges and you can argue that you’ve had a balanced morning meal. Make sure you down some water before leaving for work though. You don’t want your boss to accuse you of being drunk on the job!
3. Bacon Sour
Not for the faint of heart, this drink is one for the books. For even the most devoted connoisseurs of both bacon and bourbon, this delicious treat takes patience to create. The deep smokey taste of bacon and the overall depth to this cocktail will have you begging for more. Once you get a taste of this, you may not want to have bourbon, or bacon for that matter, any other way. Here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients:
1 ¼ parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
1 part St-Germain Liqueur infused with applewood-smoked bacon
1 part freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice
1 ½ part diluted maple syrup (1:1 ratio of Vermont grade A medium amber syrup to water)
1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters
¼ pasteurized egg white
For the applewood bacon-infused St. Germain:
9 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon
2 750 ml bottle of St-Germain Liquer
Directions:
For the drink:
In a mixing glass, put together bourbon, bacon-infused St-Germain, lemon juice, diluted maple syrup, bitters, and egg white. Add some ice and shake zealously. Pour into a double old-fashioned glass over new ice. Add an orange slice and a piece of St-Germain-infused applewood-smoked bacon.
For the applewood bacon-infused St. Germain :
In the oven, cook bacon until its crispy on the outside but chewy still in the middle. Remove from oven and try to remove excess oil by drying the bacon on a paper towel. In a glass jar, mix the two 750-ml bottles of St-Germain and the cooked bacon. Allow these ingredients to infuse for a 24-hour period at room temperature. Once 24 hours is up, remove the bacon from the jar and put the remaining liquid in the freezer until renderings coagulate and you can remove them. Strain the rest through a find mesh strainer and cheesecloth to eliminate as much renderings as possible. You may freeze and strain again if necessary. Then refrigerate until use.
4. Bacon, Vodka, and Tomato Cocktail
Have a massive hangover? No problem! Here’s a little twist to the hair of the dog. If Bloody Marys are your regular cure-all, then this might be the drink for you. Probably the favorite of all the bacon infused cocktails, this gem is a combination of a Bloody Mary and a BLT. At least if you can’t actually stomach food, this may be the answer to your highly nauseous, morning after prayer. Here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients:
½ ounce maple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
4 ounces bacon-infused bourbon
Ice
Orange twist, for garnish
Candied bacon strip, for garnish
Directions:
Aside from the garnishes, mix all the ingredients in a shaker glass with some ice and stir. In a rocks glass, either serve straight up or over ice. Garnish with the twist of orange and place the strip of candied bacon on top.
5. ‘How to Win a Guy with One Sip’ Coffee
It’s been said all over the world that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a single man who doesn’t like bacon. Although this isn’t exactly a prescription for a marriage proposal, it is instructions for an amazing bacon-infused cup of coffee. If the man of your dreams still hasn’t asked you out, this recipe should have him begging on his knees. Here’s how you do it:
Ingredients:
For the coffee:
1 tablespoon Seattle’s Best Coffee, Level 5, ground
¾ cup hot water
2 tablespoons light cream
2 teaspoons bacon-flavored syrup
1 ½ teaspoons caramel-flavored syrup
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the Spiced Caramelized Bacon Whipped Cream:
½ cup heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon caramel-flavored syrup
¼ teaspoon bacon-flavored syrup
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the caramelized bacon:
Brown sugar
Bacon
Directions:
For the coffee:
Brew the coffee in a pour-over brewer or coffee hand press and pour into a cup. Add light cream, bacon-flavored syrup, caramel-flavored syrup and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well together. Top with a glob of Spiced Caramelized Bacon Whipped Cream, dribble with caramel ice cream topping and dust with a pumpkin pie spice. Add the caramelized bacon strip on top.
For the Spiced Caramelized Bacon Whipped Cream:
Combine in all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whip well until stiff peaks form. Place into a piping bag with a big star tip. Keep until later use.
For the caramelized bacon:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take a 9 x 13 inch pan, place parchment paper over it and coat with a thin layer of light brown sugar. Place bacon strips on top of brown sugar. Add a bit of brown sugar over the top of the bacon and put another piece of parchment paper on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Remove from oven and wait until it completely cools.
So if you’re looking for a new way to enjoy your bacon, why not recreate these recipes at home? Even if it’s not at all to your liking, you have to admit that it was worth a try. Besides, why only eat it when you can drink it too?
