Carnivorous Cocktails

Cocktails mixed with meat-infused alcohol.

Writing for the A.P., Caryn Brooks discussed the 72-hour steeping process behind mixologist Adam Seger’s “Baconcello” – a cocktail made with bacon-infused vodka.

Bacon-infused spirits and other so-called “carnivorous cocktails” are quirky options on the menus of some cutting-edge bars these days, and with the introduction this May of a mass-produced product called Bakon Vodka, flesh-flavored spirits are beginning to nudge their way into the mainstream drinking scene.

Seger, general manager, mixologist and sommelier of Chicago bar/restaurant Nacional 27, is part of a multitasking breed of barkeep that likes to incorporate culinary techniques into drinks. Bacon is the most popular meat-in-a-glass, but Seger has also made a ham-and-cheese cocktail, while renowned mixologist Todd Thrasher has experimented with foie gras and lamb.

According to Brooks, Thrasher’s B.L.T. cocktail is: “a drink full of mind-bending, taste bud-tingling turns. A huge ice cube, made with lettuce water, anchors a glass rimmed with bacon salt. Clear tomato water and bacon-infused vodka are mixed and poured over the lettuce cube.”

(Seger refers to his drinks as gastronomic cocktails or “gastrotails.”)