Firewater Friday - Peppery Bacon Infused Vodka

I like a strip of bacon as a garnish for a nice spicy Bloody Mary cocktail.  That got me thinking.  What about vodka infused with bacon and pepper.  Imagine that in your Bloody Mary!  Oh my!

So, I made it.  

Peppery Bacon Infused Vodka

3 or 4 Slices Smoked Bacon
16 Ounces Good Vodka
8 - 10 Peppercorns

Cook bacon in pan until crisp but not totally crispy.  

Place bacon strips into a jar and fill with vodka.

Place jar in the refrigerator for one week.  

After a week, put the jar in the freezer for an hour to solidify the fat.  

Strain the solids out of the liquid by pouring through a sieve or a stocking lined funnel.  

Pour into a bottle or jar.

For the most bacon flavor, serve at room temperature.  Use as a mixer or a sipper.  

Cheers!

Firewater Friday - Homemade Pimento (Allspice) Dram

Pimento dram is a simple liqueur flavored with allspice berries. You may associate pimentos with olives, but those are pimento peppers.  It is called pimento dram because it is made with allspice which is the berry from the pimento tree.  

Pimento dram is strong, dark and spicy.  Unfortunately, it is not widely available in the United States but it is easy to make. 

All it takes is the ingredients and time.  


Pimento Dram

1 1/2 Cups White Rum
1/3 Cup Allspice Berries
1 Pound Brown Sugar
2 Cups Water



















Lightly crush the allspice berries.  You can place them in a plastic bag and run a rolling pin over them.  I used an old-fashioned coffee grinder.  

Place the crushed berries in a glass jar along with the rum. Let this infuse for about 10 days to 2 weeks. Strain the mixture through cheese cloth or a nylon stocking.

In a saucepan, add the brown sugar and water and heat until dissolved to create a brown sugar syrup. Allow the brown sugar syrup to cool completely.

Add the brown sugar syrup to the rum, and allow the mixture to rest for another 2 to 4 weeks.

The longer it sits the more mellow it gets.  You can add other spices like cinnamon or clove or cardamom. 

Try it in coffee or apple cider or as a mixer in cocktails!

Firewater Friday - Cherry Infused Bourbon

Cherry Infused Bourbon

Start with ripe, fresh cherries.  Figure a quarter a pound of cherries for an 8-ounce jar.

You will need an airtight container.  Canning jars work well for this.

Pit the cherries, capturing as much of the cherry juice as possible in the jar as you can.

Fill a quarter of the jar with the pitted cherries.  Fill the rest of the jar with your favorite bourbon or whiskey.


Cover the jar tightly with plastic wrap and then a lid - this ensures air tightness.

Leave the container at room temperature for at least a month.  Lightly shake the jar every couple of days.

After a month, taste the bourbon.  If you want more cherry flavor let it sit a week or two more.  

If you like a sweeter flavor, add a small amount of sugar to the liquor.  Figure approximately 1 tablespoon per cup.  Start with less because you can always add more.

Strain your macerated bourbon in to a suitable container or bottle for storage. Use as a mixer for cocktails calling for bourbon or whiskey.  Or serve straight up or on the rocks to fully appreciate the goodness you've created.

Keep the cherries for garnishing cocktails or as a topping for ice cream or simply for your nibbling pleasure.

Firewater Friday - Bacon Infused Bourbon (method 2)

I've tried two different methods of infusing bourbon with bacon . . . with distinctly different results.  Both tasted like bacon of course but this method is a much more baconny flavor.  The recipe below imparts a more subtle bacon but smokier taste.  I like them both a lot, they each have wonderful qualities so it's hard to decide which I prefer.


Bacon Infused Bourbon


1/2 cup of rendered bacon fat
4 cups of bourbon


Cook a pound of bacon.   Eat the bacon and reserve the rendered fat

Add a 1/2 cup of hot fat to a jar and allow to cool but not solidify.  

Once the bacon fat has cooled off a bit add the bourbon. 














Seal and allow to stand until it reaches room temperature. 

Place the jar in the freezer for 24 hours. 

The fat will solidify but the bourbon will remain in a liquid state. 

Open the jar and pour off the bourbon, straining through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to remove any loose fat particles. (I used a nylon stocking as a strainer).

Transfer to another jar or bottle for storage.

Firewater Friday - Spice Infused Rum

Homemade spiced rum is very easy to make . . . all it requires is time for all the spices to do their magic.  After a couple of minutes of work and two weeks of waiting and you end up with a tasty rum that can't be beat.  

Spice Infused Rum

32 oz. White Rum
2 Cinnamon Whole Sticks 
1 Vanilla Bean
8 - 10 Whole Allspice Berries
8 - 10 Whole Cloves
1 Orange Orange, Zested

When you peel the orange make sure you get only the zest . . . not the pith, which is the white part underneath the skin.

Break the cinnamon stick into pieces but do not grind it up and add to a one quart jar.  Add the rest of the spices and the rum.  

Shake, shake, shake the jar.  Then shake the jar vigorously a couple times a day for two weeks.





The rum will get darker and darker ever day as the spices infuse into the rum.  

Strain the rum into another jar, flask, bottle.  I use a nylon stocking for a filter, but you can use cheesecloth or a coffee filter.  I like the stocking because it stretches over the mouth of the jar or around the lip of a funnel . . . it's far more flexible and easier to use.

Ta da!  Spiced rum!

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Firewater Friday - Piña Picante Cocktail

Piña Picante Cocktail

1 oz. Jalapeno Infused Tequila
1/2 oz Triple Sec
Pineapple Juice
Lime Squeeze

Fill a glass with ice.  Pour the tequila and triple sec over the ice.  

Top pineapple juice. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

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Firewater Friday - Jalapeno Infused Tequila

I'm typically pretty brave about hot peppers but I've been . . . uhm . . . burned a couple times so I would highly recommend that you wear gloves when working with hot peppers.  Trust me, those oils don't wash off easily and if you touch a . . . er . . . sensitive spot it could be quite painful.  So, just wear the gloves, you can thank me later.

Jalapeno Infused Tequila

1 750 ML Bottle of 100% Agave Tequila
4 Jalapeno Peppers

Cut the stems off the peppers and slice them lengthwise. Scoop out all of the seeds and discard.  Slice the peppers into strips.

Open the bottle of tequila, remove about a jigger of tequila  from the bottle (to make room for the peppers)and slam it back (chill if desired) . . . go on, you deserve it!

Drop the jalapeno strips into the bottle. Remove additional tequila if the peppers displace more room than the bottle allows. Replace the cap for the tequila and set the bottle aside.

Taste the infusion after 24 hours.  If you want it hotter then leave it longer.  When it's hot enough for you taste then strain the tequila into another container.  Throw away peppers.  Return the infusion to the original bottle.

The infused tequila will last as long as uninfused tequila.

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Recipe Using Jalapeno Infused Tequila

Firewater Friday - Bacon Infused Bourbon (method 1)

If you like bacon . . . and let's face it, who doesn't . . . and you like bourbon then you will love this infusion.  I recently tried a bacon infused bourbon at a restaurant and was pleasantly surprised . . . I really, really liked it.  So, I made my own.  And mine is even better!

Bacon Infused Bourbon

3 or 4 Slices Smoked Bacon
16 Ounces Good Bourbon or Whiskey

Cook bacon in pan until crisp but not totally crispy.  

Place bacon strips into a jar and fill with bourbon. 














Place jar in the refrigerator for one week.  

Put in the freezer for an hour to make sure all the fat solidifies.  

Strain the solids out of the liquid by pouring through a sieve or a stocking lined funnel.  

Pour into a bottle or jar.

For the most bacon flavor, serve at room temperature.  Use as a mixer or a sipper.  

Cheers!