9
tricky tactic called “fat wash-
ing”—first detailed in a 2007 Food
& Wine article by top-notch booze
writer Nick Fauchald.
Fat won’t dissolve in most liq-
uids, but it will dissolve in alcohol.
Freezing that mixture until the fat
resolidifies, then straining it off,
completes the process. This is the
only way to infuse a spirit with the
f lavors of, say, brown butter or
hazelnuts or, yes, meat, without
leaving any chunkiness or greas-
iness behind.
I recommend using a full bot-
tle for any infusion. You don’t
want to make too small a batch.
You also lose a bit in the process,
so I wouldn’t necessarily infuse
a really pricey whiskey. Look for
$15 to $30 spirits. Or buy a han-
dle of the really cheap stuff to
practice with—the higher-proof,
the better (Wild Turkey 101 and
Old Grand-Dad are great options).
Anything that has soluble fats
can be fat-washed, from bacon to
Nutella. There’s really no right or
wrong with infusions. When you
have an idea, and there’s no recipe
online, just follow your gut. But in
general, these steps will give you
a drinkable, properly fat-washed
finished product.
1 / Choose the ingredient(s) you
wish to infuse. Duck fat, avocado
oil, Butterfingers...go wild! Of
course you might not simply be
able to buy, say, duck fat, in which
case you’ll have to render your
own. In other words, cook a duck,
and instead of tossing the grease
left in the pan down the sink and
pissing off your landlord when you
clog up his pipes, use it for your
fancy whiskey infusion.
2 / Add liquefied fat (hot, if possi-
ble) to whiskey at around a ratio of
one ounce per 750-milliliter bot-
tle. If you can, do this in a Cambro
container, which allows more
surface area contact between the
alcohol and the liquefied fat. Let
the ingredients infuse for several
hours at room temperature.3 / Afterward, put the entire
Cambro in the freezer for as little
as 12 hours but quite possibly for
a couple days. It really depends.
You’re waiting as long as it takes
for the oils from the fat to freeze
and separate from the alcohol—
because, remember, alcohol can’tfreeze. The alcohol left behind
will be infused with the flavor of
the fat, and the texture might be
a tad thicker.4 / Once that is the case, skim the
fat off the top, then strain the rest
of the whiskey through a cheese-
cloth to eliminate all the solids
still lingering behind.5 / Put the infused whiskey back
into the original bottle and store
in the fridge to keep fresh.(1) Melt the peanut butter
in a saucepan over medium
heat. Mix with the Old
Grand-Dad Bonded. Freeze
overnight. The peanut but-
ter will sink to the bottom of
the container. (2) Skim the
translucent bourbon off the
top and strain the remain-
ing mixture through coffee
filters to extract the rest
of the bourbon. (3) Repeat,
leaving again in the freezer
overnight, then skimming
and straining until the
desired clarity is achieved.
Another method of peanut
butter washing that has
gained popularity recently
is based on a perfume-
making technique called
effleurage. You spread
the peanut butter across a
rimmed baking sheet, then
briefly pour the bourbon
over the top before dump-
ing the bourbon back into a
serving vessel.Excerpted from Hacking
Whiskey: Smoking, Blend-
ing, Fat Washing, and Other
Whiskey Experiments,
2018, DovetailTHE WHISKEY
750-millimeter bottle of
Old Grand-Dad Bonded
THE FAT
2 cups peanut butter12334 December 2019