Bacon-infused vodka is mixed with chocolate liqueur and maple syrup, and the edge of the glass is rimmed in bacon sugar. This cocktail is smooth and comforting—the perfect beginning or end to a great dinner party.
I went to BlogHer Food last October and that is where I laid my lips on this luscious cocktail.
Behold…. the Maple Bacontini!
This was Gwendolyn, our Maple Bacontini whipper-upper. She was fast and efficient, and I was tired and hungover the next day. (I don’t remember her name, but I think Gwendolyn is a sassy, cute name, so voila, her name is Gwendolyn!) As a result of it being a dreary day that needs some energy, I was reminiscing about BlogHer Food in San Francisco because I really love you and wouldn’t want to hold back anything magnificently bacony and delicious from you. I will share how you can make your very own Maple Bacon Martini.
Back in January, I decided that I needed to serve this as the signature drink for my Cowgirl Dinner Party. One problem the key ingredient Bacon Vodka is not available for purchase in Michigan. Wah?! What does the great state of Michigan have against bacon infused vodka? I was not going to let this stop me. I decided to figure it out on my own, I did, and the result was luverly.
This is what you will need for a Maple Maple Bacon Martini:
1 1/2 pounds Maple Cured Bacon or any old bacon will do if you can’t find the maple
1 750 mL bottle of Vodka
1 pint heavy whipping cream
Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 cup cold Maple Syrup
Become friends with these two. Hello Bacon. Hello Vodka.
Fry up all the bacon. Reserve 5-6 pieces for the bacon rimmed martini glasses.
If you have a large measuring cup, 4 cups or larger, pour the rest of the bacon in along with all the grease. Every last drop of bacon grease.
I did not buy expensive Vodka, I think pretty much any vodka will do the trick.
Pour the whole gol‘ darn bottle of vodka in with the bacon. Save the bottle you will need to pour the infused vodka back in it.
Help them mingle with a stir of the spoon.
Now transfer this concoction to your freezer. And leave it there for at least 3 hours. I left mine in the freezer over night.
This is what I found.
All the fat had come to the top and solidified. Which made it very easy to remove.
OOOhh that is not very appetizing. Remember we are making Bacontini’s not Braintini’s. Give that a toss in the trash or give it to your children and tell them to go play bacon grease frisbee in the backyard and watch as every dog in the neighborhood shows up for the game.
Now you will need a bowl that is easy to pour from and a strainer. Pour the Bacon infused Vodka through the strainer into the bowl.
Let it drip for a 15 minutes or so, let all the goodness settle in. Throw away the bacon, then pour the strained vodka very carefully, or if you have a funnel that always works too, back into the Vodka bottle. And there you have it. Bacon infused vodka for your Maple Bacontini or for a Bloody Mary, with extra Tabasco and lots of pickle juice, if you are into that sort of thing….
Chocolate Liqueur is yummy, and necessary, and vital to the making of this cocktail.
As is one of these Cocktail Shaker doo–hickys. Of which I did not have, and had to call my more cocktail proficient friend to ask her to bring one over. That is what friends are for right? Lending you their cocktail shaker doo-hickeys.
Well I walked you through the Bacon infusing process step by step, but I must have dropped my camera or something because I don’t have one picture of me actually making the Maple Bacontini. I can however tell you how!
First thanks to my friends at Porkbeinspired.com that twittered me the recipe.
Almost everyone gave me that scrunchy nose, questioning look when I served them their first cocktail of the evening. I didn’t give them a choice, they had to try it. Everyone loved it and many asked for another. They were pleasantly surprised by the subtle salty smoke flavor the bacon vodka gave this cocktail.
It was definitely worth the effort of making my own Bacon Vodka. I hope you give it a whirl, your friends will love you for it!
Hope your Wednesday is sunshiny and full of bacon! XO Sheila
Maple Bacon Martini
Sheila
Bacon-infused vodka is mixed with chocolate liqueur and maple syrup, and the edge of the glass is rimmed in bacon sugar. This cocktail is smooth and comforting—the perfect beginning or end to a great dinner party.
2-24 hours marinating time for infusing vodka with bacon flavors 1 dayd
Total Time 1 dayd30 minutesmins
Course cocktail
Cuisine American, cocktail
Servings 10martinis
Calories 514kcal
Equipment
1 cocktail shaker
Ingredients
1 1/2poundsmaple cured bacon standard bacon is fine if you cannot find maple cured
750mLbottle of vodkafifth of vodka
3/4cupheavy whipping cream
20ounceschocolate liqueur
1/2cupcold maple syrup
1/2cup turbinado sugar
Instructions
Infusing vodka with bacon.
Pour vodka into a large glass container. Large enough that it will hold the whole bottle of vodka plus a pound of cooked bacon.
Cut 1 pound of the bacon into chunks and fry it up in a pan until it is just crispy, be careful not to burn. Remove bacon to a with a slotted spoon placing it directly into the vodka. Put in refrigerator or freezer long enough for the fat to rise to the top. Remove fat. Allow bacon to infuse with the vodka for a minimum of 24 hours. You can leave it on counter top or in refrigerator.
Strain vodka through a fine sieve back into the vodka bottle after it is done infusing.
sugar bacon rim
Fry up the remaining 1/2 pound of bacon, until crispy. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Press bacon with paper towel to make sure you get as much of the grease out as possible.
Chop bacon very fine. You could use a food processor if you want to get it finely chopped.
Turbinado sugar to bacon bits mix together. (note if bacon is too greasy it will cause the sugar to dissolve so make sure your bacon is well drained)
Creating your Maple Bacon Martini
Pour maple syrup onto plate. Place bacon sugar on a plate. Fill martini glasses with ice.
Fill shaker with ice, 2 oz bacon vodka, 2 oz chocolate liqueur, 1 tbsp heavy cream. Shake well.
Remove ice from martini glass, wipe dry, dip the rim in maple syrup and then into the bacon sugar, strain bacon martini into prepared glass.
Notes
Note: The colder the maple syrup is the better, it will stick to the cold glass and not run down the sides.
This drink is making me smile just thinking about it. I LOVED reading about your CowGirl Party. It sounds like such a fun way to spend with girlfriends. I so wish we could've both gone to Blogher Food this year. Maybe next? Especially if it's somewhere warm and sunny! 🙂
how interesting. never ever heard of this before but I can see how the bacon can be so good in it. the flavors sound delish. So much fun- what a great post girl!
This was Gwendolyn, our Maple Bacontini whipper-upper. She was fast and efficient, and I was tired and hungover the next day. (I don’t remember her name, but I think Gwendolyn is a sassy, cute name, so voila, her name is Gwendolyn!) As a result of it being a dreary day that needs some energy, I was reminiscing about BlogHer Food in San Francisco because I really love you and wouldn’t want to hold back anything magnificently bacony and delicious from you. I will share how you can make your very own Maple Bacon Martini.
I just heard that they now make bacon flavored vodka! I wonder how that would taste. Also in a bloody mary perhaps.
This drink is making me smile just thinking about it. I LOVED reading about your CowGirl Party. It sounds like such a fun way to spend with girlfriends. I so wish we could've both gone to Blogher Food this year. Maybe next? Especially if it's somewhere warm and sunny! 🙂
how interesting. never ever heard of this before but I can see how the bacon can be so good in it. the flavors sound delish. So much fun- what a great post girl!