Bacon + Bourbon = Proof God Was From Kentucky?

Peanut Butter and Jelly? Tom Cruise and a F-14 Tomcat? Daryl Hall and John Oates? Myth: Could the good Lord produce better combinations than these works of poetry? Well, over a short but productive lunch, I came across a recipe for the new mixologist rage...Bacon Bourbon. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd hear two things carved out of such perfection could be combined in flawless harmony. So I headed to my local Fresh Market, took out a second mortgage on my house and bought a pound of Nueskes Applewood Smoked Bacon...for $7.00 a pound.


I figured to get a good finished product, I'd have to start with quality ingredients...well, at least quality bacon. After frying 9 strips up, I got a yield of 3.5 ounces of bacon fat and added that to 750mL of Jim Beam White Label Bourbon. I let that Concoction of the Gods sit at room temperature overnight, and then tossed it in the freezer for 2 hours to separate the fat from the liquid. You can start to see the science at work here:

The fat coagulated on top of the bourbon and allowed me to simply spoon it out of the pitcher (perhaps I'll make a bacon candle with that?). After a few trips through the cheese cloth...



I had a perfect batch of Bacon Bourbon...



I have to admit, the 4 BLT's I made with the Bacon were a tad better than the bourbon itself...but it did produce a distinctly different taste than the Jim Beam I started with. Specifically, it was much smokier. I think I'll try it with a maple syrup old fashion and see if it gets any better. So long story short, Myth confirmed...you can't get a better combination than Tom Cruise in a DOG fight in a tomCAT. We'll discuss the irony of that later.