Here’s how you turn a favorite sandwich into a cocktail—to great acclaim!
August 2009
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Recipe: BLT Cocktail
Page 1: The Inspiration For Converting A Classic Sandwich Into A Cocktail
The last time we were in Aspen, Colorado having drinks at the historic Hotel Jerome, we had vodka on the rocks. There was no BLT Cocktail. We’d be desperately trying to schedule a trip back for a sip of this cocktail, except that mixologist Brent Jones shared his recipe with us. This is Page 1 of a two-page article. Click on the black link below to visit Page 2.
Introduction
Is bacon the new “hot” American food? Cured pork has been around since ancient times, but bacon, in the modern sense of thin strips cooked on a griddle, was developed in Great Britain in the 18th century. According to the Oxford Companion To Food, the first large-scale bacon curing business was set up in the 1770s by John Harris in Wiltshire, which remains the main bacon-producing area of the U.K. (for those bacon-loving readers who wish to make a pilgrimage).
But forget about bacon and eggs, and bacon quiche*. The new millennium has tantalized us with bacon brittle, bacon chocolate bars and pig lickers†, bacon brownies, bacon brittle...and now, for savory seekers, a cocktail. Brent Jones, a molecular mixologist at the famed Hotel Jerome in Aspen, has figured out how to combine his love of bacon with his love of cocktails...with a bit of molecular gastronomy magic.
*While some think of bacon quiche as so 20th century, it’s so 9th century—it was developed in Lothringen/Lotharingia, now the Lorraine, the portion of Charlemagne’s empire that was given to Lothair I by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 C.E. Lotharingia comprised the present-day Alsace (France), Belgium, Luxembourg, Lorraine (France), The Netherlands, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) and Saarland (Germany). The bacon of the time was shoulder of pork, not today’s salted pork back.
†Cooked bacon dipped in melted chocolate, that hardens; also called pig candy.
The unique cocktail, which is causing quite a buzz in Aspen, is created with bacon fat-washed vodka, freshly juiced organic tomatoes and a foamed lettuce topping. Brent creates the components from scratch. As a molecular mixologist, he is constantly conducting new experiments with cocktails. This one takes a bit of time, but none of the steps is difficult.
The Inspiration
One evening while tending bar at the recently renovated Library lounge in Aspen’s Hotel Jerome, Brent noticed that an organic BLT sandwich had been introduced to the menu. As he served sandwiches made with fresh organic lettuce and tomatoes and crisp, fragrant bacon, his BLT craving began. By the end of the evening, he was inspired to deconstruct the BLT sandwich into a cocktail. The drink distinctly replicates each of the three BLT flavors (hold the mayo!) into one innovative beverage.
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The Hotel Jerome opened as a luxury hotel in
1889. Mining and real estate entrepreneur
Jerome Wheeler was also half owner of Macy's department store in New York City. |
You won’t get credit from your nutritionist for eating two portions of vegetables, but you will have a memorable cocktail.
Continue To The Next Page: The Cocktail Recipe
Recipe © copyright Brent Jones. All other materials
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