So I finally did it. I made bacon bourbon over the weekend to share with some friends, and I thought I’d give you the step-by-step account. First things first, introductions. Bacon, meet Bourbon. Bourbon, Bacon.
Okay, pleasantries out of the way, I fried up a few slices. The recipes I’ve read have called for anywhere from 1 to 4 ounces of bacon grease. I went with about 2, although I didn’t actually measure so it could have been as much as 3. I used fresh, hot grease to warm up some grease i’d been saving in the fridge, and poured them into a clean pitcher.
And now the Bacon and Bourbon are getting to know each other on a more intimate level.
Mmm…congealing already.
While the infusion process takes place, I share the bacon bounty with my most discriminating friend.
After 2 hours at room temperature, I placed the pitcher in the freezer for more than an hour so all the grease could become very firm. I used a slotted spoon to fish out the larger chunks of grease, then I went with a double straining method: first, with a wire mesh strainer, then with cheese cloth and a funnel to make sure no little bacony bits made it back into the bottle.
And voila! Ready for tasting. In tomorrow’s exciting installment: Did Anybody Like It?!
UPDATE: Welcome reddit! Check out the post on tasting this delicious concoction!
Wowsie!! I can’t believe you did this! I can’t wait to hear how it turned out 🙂
I find cooked bacon imparts a roadkill smell to the bourbon. Try using raw bacon and use a desktop cash still to redistill the bacon spirits. This eliminates all fats and the need for filtering.
Well I don’t know what a desktop cash still is, but I’m going to go Google it now. That’s some fascinating information.
tried it w/ makers didn’t get the bacon profiles i wanted so i’m going to do it again w/ more bacon
I just mixed my 1st batch of “Bullet Bob’s Bacon Bulleit Bourbon” I used 3 1/2 ozs of maple bacon fat and one 750ml bottle of Bulleit Bourbon. After 1 hour of sitting in a covered pyrex container it already had a 1/4 inch of congealed grease on the top. I broke it up to give the mix some more surface area to infuse from. I’m gonna give it another 5 hours at room temperature before it hits the freezer. It already smells phenominal. Can’t wait to try it. Might have to cheat a bit.