Old Fashioned with Candied Maple Bacon - Cocktail Recipe Video

This Cheap$kate Mixologist enjoys a Happy Hour at home after a long day of YouTube video-making and blogging. I haven't made many Cocktails published on the internet so read on and leave a comment if it works for you.

    

Click on any intoxicating photo to see it larger.

My Cocktail is a classic called an Old Fashioned. It's typically made with Rye Whiskey, a couple shakes of Bitters, sugar, a splash of water, a bit of orange zest, and sometimes garnished with a cocktail cherry. I've had them that way and they are in my Cocktail Top Ten list. 

I came up with a meaty spin, an Old Fashioned with a sweet and savory Candied Maple Bacon garnish. I guess you could say my version is on the trendy side of specialty garnishes and something you would not serve every day.

I went out on a limb and served my tweaked classic hootch to some friends whom I invited over for an evening of Film Noir that shows on regular TV in Los Angeles. (If you have an antenna you can get it, too, so look it up in your local TV guide.) 

The channel is called Movies! and it's on channel 13.3 in the home of  Film Noir, Los Angeles. Click here for their broadcast schedule, and "arrow forward or backward" to Thursday and Sunday night to see what they are showing. My version of an Old Fashion was a hit and everyone had seconds and thirds, whew! 

Film Noir is still big in Los Angeles and every year there is a movie festival that celebrates these crime thrillers from the 1940s and 1950s called Noir City. Check out my slide show below to see the scene on opening night. Look out for one of the specialty drinks of the night called a Flatfoot Old Fashioned.

I made my own Maple Bacon, so my recipe video is worth the price of admission.

All you do to make it is pour maple syrup on slices of bacon then bake them until the bacon is brown and crispy. Syrup in a frying pan will make a mess so it's best to bake the  Candied Maple Bacon. 

I still find small packages of bacon at my local Dollar Tree. You don't get many slices but it's enough for a round of drinks. And I can even get pancake syrup there, too. It is imitation maple syrup, but it's easy enough to substitute a better brand if you want to impress.

While a fifth or pint of booze is expensive, most of my Cocktail Recipes can be made with a cheap single-serving airline bottle of liquor. I used to get them for a buck, but now they are a little more, but still much cheaper than a $20 specialty cocktail at a bar.

Check out my Old Fashioned with a Maple Bacon Garnish video below, it's best served on a cold and stormy night to your roguish friends and favorite femme fatales.

                           Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 15 seconds.

Ingredients

Bourbon or Rye Whiskey - about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) per Cocktail.

 Angostura Bitters - several (about 3) shakes. About a 1/4 teaspoon.

Ice - a few cubes per Cocktail.

Bacon - sliced. One slice per Cocktail.

Maple Syrup - about a teaspoon per slice of bacon.

Directions

Pour/drizzle maple syrup on slices of bacon. Use a spoon or butter knife to spread syrup all over bacon slices. I just coat one side, but you can coat both if you like.

 Place bacon slices on a wire grate to drain grease. You can put foil on the bottom of the pan for easy cleanup. The maple syrup will burn and bake on any surface.

Bake bacon slices at 325 degrees. This is low enough to minimize grease splattering. 

I baked the bacon for 30 minutes. It may bake a little quicker or slower depending on your oven and the thickness of bacon slices. Start checking on bacon after 20 minutes or so.

Remove bacon when it is browned and crispy, or any way you like it. Bacon will harden some more as cools down.

Now assemble the Old Fashioned Cocktail with a Bacon Garnish.

In a Cocktail glass add Whisky and shake in a few drops of Bitters. Stir to blend ingredients.

Add ice cubes and garnish with a slice of Maple Bacon. Give the Cocktail one more stir to blend some maple syrup sweetness.

*A classic Old Fashioned has Whiskey, Angostura Bitters, a sugar cube or a simple syrup, ice, and a garnish of orange peel and/or a Maraschino cherry.