Two glasses of bacon bourbon with strips of cooked bacon in each glass and a bottle of bourbon in the background.

5 / 5 votes

Bacon Infused Bourbon

Bacon-infused bourbon tastes exactly like what you'd expect. Bacon that's slowly cooked to smoky loveliness and then dropped in your favorite bourbon. Sip it neat or use it to doctor up your favorite drinks.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time12

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: (1-oz) servings

Calories: 70

Equipment

Funnel; several paper coffee filters

Ingredients

▢ 8 ounces smoky bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch (6 mm) slivers
▢ One (26-ounce) bottle of your favorite bourbon or whiskey

US - Metric

Instructions

Place the bacon in a cold skillet and place it over medium-high heat on the stove or on a grill set up for direct grilling and preheated to medium-high (400°F or 204°C). Cook the bacon, stirring often, until the bacon has browned and quite a lot of bacon fat has been rendered, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat and let the bacon cool slightly. Pour the fat through a fine-mesh strainer into a large metal bowl. Save the bacon for garnishing, noshing, or another use—oh, the options!
Pour your bourbon into the warm bacon fat and whisk to mix, reserving the bottle and cap. Let the bourbon mixture rest at room temperature for 2 hours and then cover and place the bowl of bourbon and bacon fat in the freezer overnight.
Remove the bourbon from the freezer. The bacon fat will have risen and congealed on the surface. Skim it off and reserve it for cooking or basting.
Line a funnel with a paper coffee filter. Place the funnel in the neck of the bourbon bottle and strain the bourbon back into the bottle. If the paper filter becomes clogged, swap it out for a new paper filter.
☞ TESTER TIP: Be patient. The infused bourbon will drip slooooooowly. It's worth the wait.
Recap the bottle before storing. Your bacon-infused bourbon will, in theory, keep at room temperature for up to several weeks—not that it stands a chance of sticking around that long, natch. For a more aromatic experience, swirl the bourbon in a snifter or a wide glass before sipping.

Nutrition