Easy Greasy Bacon Old Fashioned

Any butcher will tell you fat holds most of the flavour in any meat. That’s the reason why fat-marbled Wagyu steaks are so delicious and why you really should have a nice layer of fat on any piece of roast. Adding fat to spirits is something which is not that uncommon in bars, it’s called “fat-washing the spirit” and it can be done with several spirits such as whisky, Bourbon, rum, … 

Today I’m talking about one of the most popular ‘fatty’ cocktails: The Bacon Old Fashioned. I’ll explain in short how it’s done in the bars, but I’ll also give you a quick and easy method to shake one up at home. 

In the bars the name is really not that accurate, because they will only use the liquid fat of the bacon to mix with Bourbon. Make sure to use greasy belly bacon to get enough liquid fat. Mix the fat and Bourbon in a jar and have it rest for a day to make sure the spirit absorbs all the delicious flavors (shake regularly). Next day refrigerate (or freeze) the mix, which will make the fat become solid again and it will split from the spirit. Get rid of the fat and pour the whiskey through a coffee filter to get your ready-to-use Bacon flavored whiskey. 

For measurements, I would suggest maximum 60 ml of liquid fat on a complete bottle of whiskey. 

So yes, it’s not that easy and it’s only rewarding if you make a batch of it. But I also have a pretty easy way of adding bacon taste to your whiskey(-cocktail). 

Easy Greasy Bacon Old Fashioned

Ingredients
60 ml Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
10 ml Honey Syrup (or Maple Syrup)
3 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
1 strip of grilled greasy bacon

Method
Cut your grilled strip of bacon in half lengthwise. Put the prettiest half aside for garnish, cut up the other half in small cubes. Add these to a shaker with ice, also add the whisky, honey syrup and bitters. Shake for 15 seconds. Fine strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Notice the beautiful color. Garnish with the bacon strip. 

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