3783. BACON MANHATTAN

Makes 1 

2-3 dashes bitters
1½ oz. bacon-infused bourbon (recipe below)
½ oz. dry vermouth
¼ oz. sweet vermouth
1 strip crisp, cooked bacon, for garnish
1 cherry (maraschino or brandied), for garnish
1 twist orange rind, for garnish

Bacon-Infused Bourbon:

2 oz. bacon fat
1½ cups bourbon

To clarify the bacon fat, melt fat and strain into a bowl. Add 4 oz. boiling water. Stir well and leave until melted fat has set into a cake above the water. Remove cake, scraping off any sediment from the bottom, then melt again.

Combine bourbon and bacon fat in a quart-size jar. Seal with a tightly fitting lid and shake vigorously. Leave the bourbon to infuse at room temperature for 5-8 hours.

Put the jar in the freezer and freeze until all of the bacon fat has solidified at the surface of the bourbon, about 1 hour. Scoop off and discard the bacon fat and strain the bourbon through a fine mesh sieve lined with 2 coffee filters. Extra bacon-infused bourbon can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Manhattan:

Swirl bitters in a chilled martini glass.

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes and add the bourbon and vermouths. Shake vigorously, then strain the cocktail into the prepared martini glass.

Cut bacon into small squares. Garnish with a skewered cherry, orange rind and bacon pieces. Serve immediately.

bacon recipe source: Marissa Conrad, "Bacon, Not Stirred: Make a Bacon Bourbon Cocktail," People.com/Great Ideas, February 26, 2014