Posted by Allison Ehri Kreitler

“Genius! Absolutely freaking genius!” I declared as I listened to bartender/mixologist Jim Meehan describe his "fat washing" technique. “You mean I can make my bourbon taste like bacon?” I couldn’t wait to get home and get started. Fat washing has been done for years in the cocktail world, most commonly by browning butter and adding it to rum to infuse it with a complex nutty flavor. But Jim and other bartenders have revamped the concept by infusing booze with lovely, smoky bacon.

The Benton’s Old Fashioned Jim made for me (he used bacon-infused Dickel Tennessee Whisky, Grade B Maple Syrup and Angostura Bitters) was a revelation. Here's one of Jim's fellow bartenders at PDT in New York showing how they do it:

Fast-forward a few weeks: My bacon-loving friend’s going-away party was just the opportunity I needed to develop my own bacon infusion. After a few tries I found that 1 3/4 cups Makers Mark and the fat from 12 oz. Niman Ranch bacon (about 1/2 cup) gave me the smoky, meaty flavor I was looking for (the PDT folks use less fat because they buy a super-smoky bacon that most of us can't get our hands on).

Here’s how it works: slowly cook the bacon so you don’t burn the fat. Eat all the bacon and let the fat cool just a little (so it doesn’t boil the booze out of the bourbon). Pour the fat into the room-temperature bourbon and let sit, stirring occasionally at first, until the fat solidifies, then refrigerate. I found that 2 days in the fridge was perfect. Remove the fat layer and strain the bourbon. Keep refrigerated; I found that the bourbon changes flavor as it sits, so you'll want to use it fairly quickly. At my party, I served it with equal parts Guinness and chocolate sorbet, which was a big hit (really!).

P.S. Oh, and Sharon? Bacon will never be dead to me. I feel sorry for you.