Like many, I first tried this wonderful infusion at PDT while drinking a Benton’s Old Fashioned –also one of the very very few times I felt ok about paying $15 for a cocktail. I digress. I am a fan of traditional Old Fashioned cocktails, Sidecar’s, Sazerac’s, etc…while I tend to favor traditional classics, PDT’s spin is worth trying and if you are not local, it is very easy to make.
Start with making the burbon. I’ve made this several times (some more successful than others) with Four Roses, Old Overholt, Jim Bean, and others…Four Roses and Old Overholt worked the best (JB is too sweet).
Ingredients
750ml-1l of Bourbon
Country Smoked Bacon (i’ve used cheap and expensive bacon –it does not make a difference)
Coffee Filter
Directions
Fry up the sauté  pan and lay enough bacon down until you can easily pour 1 ounce of bacon grease into a cup. Next, add the grease to the bourbon. This is where some directions differ. Some directions call for directly adding the hot grease into the burbon others call for letting the grease soften before adding. I’ve tried both. The best is to let the fat soften so you can scoop it with a spoon and put it into the burbon (I pour my burbon into a glass vase). This way you can easily scoop the burbon out. Other times I’ve dumped hot bacon in the burbon, which pretty quickly hardens if the burbon is too cold. This not only inhibits the flavor from infusing but it is a complete mess to separate the burbon from fat.
Let the burbon site for 2 days in a dark spot –room temp. Next, filter the burbon with a coffee strainer, voila.
To make the Benton’s Old Fashioned:
2 ounces bacon-infused bourbon
1/4 ounce Grade B maple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Twist of orange
add ingredients to a mixing glass, stir, strain into a rocks glass with 1 or 2 large ice cubes, add orange garnish
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