Drink of the Week: Vegetarian Bacon Martini

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Okay, I give up. When did this whole "bacon" thing become a trend?

Are you kids really just clamoring for that much more bacon in your lives?

So much so that it has to invade the sacred realm of cocktails? (Well - as a purist, I consider it a sacred realm. Anyone out there adding things like chocolate and six varieties of fruit may beg to differ. In fact, to them, the realm as it were could be categorized as a bit of a free for all, or a brave new world, wouldn't you say?)

I guess so.

I mean, as the sweet boys (so dang sweet) at the local hot spot Animal can attest, bacon-chocolate combo desserts are pretty much the must-try treat these days. Almost everyone who saunters through the door at their minimalist space tops off their dinner with it.

Downright wacky stuff, eh?

So in the interest of trying my hand at the more-bacon wave, I started asking around, "What would you put in a bacon martini?" Because, facts being facts, I prefer a cocktail to dessert any day. Uh-huh. Drink it up!

The responses to my query started out quite basic (try bacon infused vodka) and then rapidly started veering in to places that would make a hog-farmer wince. And might make a distiller cry. Not to mention the elaborate schememing and garnishing being described would have involved a battery of kitchen equipment...never a good thing once the drinking has commenced...

So I pulled back and went simple. Followed my heart. Kept it chic.

What I ended up concocting not only works well with bacon dishes, but doesn't actually include any honest-to-goodness porcine delight. (Having tried a few bacon vodkas I deemed it not up to my standards. Or appealing to my palate. Heck, I just plain didn't care for it I tells ya!) The secret to its pork-like taste is thanks to my friendly shaker of Bacon Salt. When used as a garnish it just adds that certain something to the heady and smoky bevvie. And downing one of these will knock you on your you-know-what.

In other words…it’s perfect.

Now try it my peaches, and taste the joy.

Vodka
Scotch Whisky (the smokier the better)
Bacon Salt
Cocktail Onions

Pour three parts vodka to one part whisky over a mixing glass full of ice. Cap and shake vigorously.

Pour no more than two ounces (its straight alcohol! You don’t want to fall over after one!) in to a glass that you have rimmed with bacon salt.

Garnish with onions and serve.

© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
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© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at is guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright. And generally cheesing me off.

For 1,200 years, an imperial edict banned the eating of meat because of a Japanese Buddhist belief that it was unclean. Fish was central to the Japanese diet, and meat was consumed furtively, only for medicinal purposes. In 1872, Emperor Meiji lifted the ban, “To catch up with and overtake the superior culture of the West.” NY Times

Want to see a photo of a bacon-chocolate martini. Here's one!

In the early 1800s salt was four times as expensive as beef on the American frontier - it was essential in keeping people and livestock alive. - Food Reference.com