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I live in Indiana, and there aren't many things that say "Hoosier" more than bourbon and pork. I also have "The PDT Cocktail Book" and made the original cocktail using thick-sliced Oscar Mayer bacon instead of Benton's. Yes, it was weird, but I enjoyed the drink and would make it more often if it wasn't so much work. I remember it being more smoky than tasting like meat.

The orange-twist garnish? That just doesn't fit the spirit of the thing. I used a strip of bacon! Try it before judging me. :-)

Dear Simon, in order to play around a bit with this wonderful recipe I've now prepared a small batch of Stoughton's Bitters, taking the aggregated Jerry Thomas recipe mentioned by David Wondrich (cassia bark, columba root, gentian root and bitter orange peel macerated in brandy). Now I'm not sure how to tag it correctly. Would be possible to create new category "Stoughton's Bitters" or is there a convenient category already? Many thanks :)

Knob Creek makes a delicious maple-bacon bourbon, which I wonder might be an easy substitute. Add 2 dashes of Ango and we're off to the races!

Did this with ~70g of bacon fat to 700ml bourbon (from about 400g of lardons). Tasted the bourbon alone and it seemed to amplify the wood notes but I don't think I would've called it bacon from that alone. Never been one for old fashioneds normally but this is outstanding. Smooth, oak smoked bacon bourbon goodness.

This was great! Worth the effort of infusing the bourbon. Savoury, smooth and delicious!

I'm not loving the citrus twist in this drink though. While I appreciated the low effort garnish after all the waiting and filtering, I think something like a chunk of candied bacon on a stick would work better. The citrus jarred with the savoury tones.

Additionally, I'm curious what kind of bacon you use to get 30ml of fat from just 4 slices? I barely got enough to infuse a miniature!

(Benton's OF)

I'm curious about safely storing the bacon fat washed bourbon. Should it be room temperature or refrigerated? Also, for how long can I safely store it?

Requires a little patience. Fry the bacon slowly to render all the fat. Triple strain the bourbon using filter paper to draw out all the fat. Worth the effort.

I was disappointed that I didn't like the bacon/bourbon taste enough to overlook the coating of bacon fat that remained on my tongue and lips after every sip. Not a bad drink, just not the totally awesome drink I was expecting.

The bourbon was a little fat tasting after infusion. The fat came off in one solid chunk after freezing. Once the orange skin and oils joined it was less fatty tasting.