Cheers@Home Winter 2023 | Page 11

| TIPS FROM THE PROS |

2 oz . Fat-washed bourbon 1 oz . Nonino amaro 3 dashes Angostura bitters 1 Orange

Add ingredients into a mixing glass and stir . Strain over a large ice rock into an Old Fashioned glass . Garnish with a twist of orange .

The Sesame State of Mind

Ants on a Log

The A5 Old Fashioned

If you ’ ve never had , or heard of , a fat-washed cocktail , the notion may seem a bit strange at first . The technique , which involves infusing fat into spirits to create a soft , velvety texture with savory flavors , began around 2008 in New York with bacon-washed Old Fashioneds .

Since then bartenders across the country have been inspired to get creative with their fat infusions , often using ingredients from cooking that would have otherwise gone to waste in their restaurant kitchens .

To fat-wash a spirit , you typically incorporate the fat into the spirit while in a liquid state , letting it cool slightly after you melt it . Leave the mixture to sit at room temperature for at a few hours to absorb the flavor and then freeze it . Once frozen , you can strain out the solid fat , resulting in a rich , flavorful spirit .

Pork fat , namely bacon , is a popular pick for fat-washing , especially with bourbon . But many bartenders now infuse different fats , including duck , Wagyu beef , peanut butter , and coconut oil . Deviation Distilling in Denver recently launched an extensive fat-washed menu with vegan and meat fat washes ranging from butter to feta to pistachio to sesame oil .

Husk Savannah in Georgia makes its Duck and Cover cocktail with duck fat mezcal , orange , coriander and smoked salt . Louisville , KY-based North of Bourbon ’ s Get Buttered uses a browned-butter-washed Wild Turkey 101 , Demerara syrup and bitters .

Farrow restaurant in Niwot , CO , has done fat-washed cocktails with chicken schmaltz , beef tallow , olive oil , brown butter and more . Its Ants on a Log cocktail uses peanut butter-washed bourbon mixed with raisin syrup and a celery tincture .

Katie Wokas , bartender at Herb & Wood in San Diego created the Iberico & Bourbon cocktail ( recipe above ) with an Iberico ham fat-washed bourbon .

Fat-washing bourbon with Japanese A5 Wagyu beef makes the whiskey richer , a little bit buttery and nutty , says Cory Miller , bar lead at Animae in San Diego . Animae features the Wagyu fat-washed bourbon in its A5 Old Fashioned , which gives the cocktail a savory quality that ’ s balanced out with the aromatics from aromatic bitters and an orange twist .

Animae uses ½ cup ( roughly 100 grams ) of Wagyu fat , melted on low heat then cooled to under 150F , per bottle of bourbon ; stirred to incorporate , frozen and strained . The A5 Old Fashioned drink recipe combines 2 oz . of the Wagyu fat-washed bourbon with ¼ oz . Demerera syrup and 3 dashes of bitters .

“ Fat-washing simply elevates your home bartending game , by giving your drinks texture and weight ,” Miller says . “ Also , fat-washed spirits are self-stable , unlike home-made syrup or citrus .”

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