Thanks to my friend who used her culinary (and drinking) skills to undertake the challenge of making Bacon Bourbon Whiskey, yesterday I was the recipient of two variations on the concoction. And as you can see in the photo, I felt like I was transporting moonshine due to the Mason Jars and blue plastic bag in which the goods were delivered. Fortunately I did not get pulled over by DC’s Finest on my drive home.
Both mixtures were made with Jack Daniels (hence we will technically refer to it as Bacon Whiskey, rather than Bacon Bourbon, not that I could probably tell the difference…). One version was made with applewood smoked bacon and the other with maple bacon. As you can tell from the photo, just the color of the two mixtures look very different from each other (the maple is the darker one on the left with the M label and the applewood is on the right with the A label). And before I even tasted either of them, you could also tell the difference just by smelling them. The Applewood Bacon Whiskey had a stronger musty, smokey scent. The Maple Bacon Whiskey had a much lighter and sweeter scent, but also with a hint of smokiness.
The smell of the Maple Bacon Whiskey was much more pleasant to me, so I decided to try the Applewood Bacon Whiskey first with the hopes of ending on a higher note. Drinking straight Jack Daniels probably didn’t enhance the experience, but the taste of the Applewood Bacon Whiskey was incredibly overwhelming, just like the smell. You could absolutely taste the bacon. And that’s about all I have to say about that.
After some serious palate cleansing, I moved on to the Maple Bacon Whiskey. The bite of the Jack Daniels and the taste of the bacon were still quite strong, but the hint of maple syrup helped to somewhat mask the overwhelming flavors and the Maple Bacon Whiskey was much more tolerable. It still isn’t something I could imagine myself drinking straight, but in the spirit of conducting a true taste test I decided to give it a whirl with some Diet Coke, given that Jack and Coke is a regular drink of mine. And the result…let’s just say I can now safely say that I know what Diet Coke with Bacon tastes like.
I’m usually vehemently pro-bacon in even the most unusual of circumstances, and I’m usually of the opinion that everything tastes better with bacon. While these two variations on Bacon Whiskey may be a little overwhelming for the senses when consumed straight, perhaps they would be better cooked in something like brownies. And perhaps the results would be different if using actual bourbon instead of Jack Daniels. But in the spirit of not saying anything negative about bacon, let’s just say Bacon Whiskey is definitely an ‘acquired’ taste.
And thanks to DCChick1425 for making the experiment possible!