Bacon-Infused Whiskey

I'm going to admit something: we are bacon freaks. As in, we love bacon and will try anything that has bacon as an ingredient. A few months back we had seen an ad for a bacon vodka  and it got us thinking about how hard it could be to make an infused liquor like that at home. Christmas rolls around and we decide to give infusion a try as a gift for the whiskeylover in our lives. A quick search yielded plenty of recipes and, while all seemed similar, I went with this recipe because I liked its thoroughness. Getting everything together was easy, filtering out the fat was just plain tedious. We filtered ours three times and each time took between 45-60 minutes. The end result was pretty spectacular as the whiskey really picked up the bacon flavor and the bacon soaked up the whiskey flavor. I think you can get drunk off of eating the bacon bits alone.

Bacon-Infused Whiskey
Source: Adapted from Matthew Walrath on What Is Bacon

1.75 liter bottle of whiskey (we used Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey)
16 oz bacon
Large jar
Coffee filters

Cut up bacon into 3-inch strips. Over medium heat, cook all the bacon until slightly crispy. Yes, cook all of it.

Place cooked bacon and all of the bacon fat in the large jar. Pour in whiskey, seal jar, and store at room temperature. For the next 48 hours, shake the jar every 4 to 6 hours.

After 48 hours, place the jar in the refrigerator for a few hours. This is key as it helps the fat solidify so that it is easier to remove once you start filtering. Spoon out whatever fat you can (there was at least an inch worth of fat accumulated on top of the whiskey for me) and, using coffee filters, begin filtering out the leftover fat into another container.

Filter at least two times or until you get a semi-clear liquid. Pour whiskey into a new container or back into its original bottle. The bacon can be saved to garnish drinks or for baking (recipe coming soon!).

Serve and enjoy! Our whiskey lover served it with orange juice and said it was like breakfast in a cup.

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