Spirits - Bacon Vodka

Back in the day, bar patrons could only order plain vodka, mixed with fruit juices and liquors to create tasty infusions known as “Chick Drinks” by bartenders throughout the world. A few years ago, the bar industry started seeing an explosion in flavored vodkas which started with citrus (orange and lemon) and grew into espresso (one of my favorites), chocolate, rare tropical fruits and berries, whipped cream and even bubble gum. When I was a bar manager, my staff and I would sit around after a shift with a few pints and I can remember saying: “One day, they will make a steak or cheeseburger vodka.” Today, they are close.

Bakon Vodka is just as the name suggests: bacon flavored vodka. Black Rock Spirits began perfecting this product in the fall of 2007 in their test kitchen. The two-year process created a premium-quality vodka that people would enjoy while bringing something new to the flavored vodka industry.

By using superior quality potato vodka (distilled from Idaho potatoes), Bakon has created a smooth, slightly sweet creation with no strong burn and a vanilla aftertaste. Today’s mixologists have began incorporating food into drinks which actually began with the introduction of the Martini with its signature olives in 1911. Today, "carnivorous cocktails" are found in most clubs, restaurants and lounges. Bar Pilar is once such bar in Washington, DC, that adds two strips of bacon to its signature Bloody Mary’s. With Bakon Vodka, they will not have to.

I was not a fan of Bakon as a standalone drink. Though it tastes and smells like smoked bacon, it leaves a vanilla aftertaste. Mix it in a Bloody Mary and you will be set. I found these suggestions below on Bakon’s website. Try them out and tell me what you think!

Bakon Mary

• 1½ oz. Bakon Vodka in a pint glass filled with ice.
• Fill glass with tomato juice
• 1 dash each of celery salt and ground black pepper
• 2-4 dashes each of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco
• 1/8 tsp. horseradish

Shake and pour into a salt rimmed pint glass. Garnish with a celery stalk and your
favorite pickled vegetables.

Bakon Chocolate Martini

• 1 part Bakon Vodka
• 1 part chocolate liqueur
• A splash of cream

Combine in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain and pour into a sugar-rimmed martini glass.

Bakon Oyster Shooter

• 1 ½oz. Bakon Vodka
• 1 fresh, raw oyster
• Dash Tobasco Sauce

Combine in a shot glass. Garnish with lime wedge.