Wings of Ikarus - blue cheese and bacon infused vodka

I was wearing wings of feathers and wax.

Daedalus und Ikarus, Relief in der Villa Albani, Rom

I was on my way to meet my friends.  In my jacket pockets were two containers.  One was vodka infused with blue cheese, the other vodka infused with bacon.  We were going to fly.

I met them at a bar.  In Pennsylvania it is unlawful to bring alcohol into a bar.  As I entered, I kept the infusions out of sight, in my jacket pockets.  I hoped I would escape being found out.  The room was fairly large, I'd say about 25'-30' wide by 40' deep. A rectangular bar was situated in the center of the room and touches the far wall, where the beer taps are located.  A 10' wide area surrounded the bar on the left and right sides, a 15' wide area at the near end of the room.  Within those areas were tables, each table seated four.  There were already enough people near the door and with the lights down low that I felt confident I wouldn't be confronted about my creations.


My friends and I were meeting a small group of people that work together.  They were having an unofficial company Christmas party.  These days, most companies look poorly upon officially condoning the inbibing of alcohol.  Or maybe it was the companies' insurance companies that protested?  Contrary-wise, I have it from a reliable resource, that at the company's annual convention in Las Vegas, quite a bit of drinking goes on amongst upper management.  I guess upper management can handle alcohol better than these low paid employees.  Nonetheless, there were thirty workers enjoying themselves with their own money.  They were celebrating their camaraderie.  They were celebrating life.


Upon finding my friends, I ordered a few doubles for a toast.  I delivered the drinks to a table on the west side of the room.  We wished each other cheers, clinked our glasses and downed the doubles.  Standing with our backs to the bar and bartenders, I poured some of each infusion into two of the empty double shot glasses.


My friends had arrived at the bar about half an hour before I.  They started drinking as soon as they arrived.  I was handicapped, they had a half hour head start celebrating.  Once I had a Yuengling Lager in hand, I asked for the tasting to begin.  Jimmy went first, he sipped the blue cheese infusion.  He didn't consciously choose the blue cheese infusion, but because of the low light and his vision already impaired, he now had his fist wrapped around that glass.  The resulting moments after his sip may have been influenced by his surroundings.  There were some thirty fellow workers there, a few of which were women.  He desired one of the women.  With another woman, he had a past.  There were also men there.  Manly men.  He didn't have any desires for them but he did have a manly reputation he needed to uphold.  For whatever reason he swallowed the sip of blue cheese infused potato vodka.  It seemed against his better judgement.


He spun around and looked me straight in the eye.  If looks could kill ...  At that point in the evening the room already had reached a level of noise that we had to nearly shout to communicate with each other.  He leaned in towards me and in a loud voice, squirted out, " It tastes like dirty dishwater."  Dirty dishwater?  Just to let you all know, I have never drank dishwater, deliberately or otherwise.  So I had no way of comparing the taste of this infusion to dishwater.  There was only one way for me to know of what Jimmy spoke.  I had to try the blue cheese infusion.  I took the glass from his hand and poured more infusion.  I swished it around the glass.  Even in the low light I could see there was still plenty of cheese particles in suspension.  I put the glass to my lips.


There was no longer the over powering whiff of hospital disinfectant from the alcohol.  There was a sour smell, like milk past its date.  I took a sip.  I swallowed.  Let me say this.  The taste was not pleasurable.  It was not what I would want to drink as a cheese course in a meal of cheese and bacon.  I wouldn't want to drink this at all.  It was foul.  Not foul in the chicken sense.  Foul as in the New Oxford American Dictionary defintion - "revolting, repulsive, repugnant, abhorrent, loathsome, offensive, sickening, nauseating, nauseous, stomach-churning,stomach-turning, distasteful, obnoxious, objectionable, odious, noxious, vomitous; informal ghastly, gruesome, gross, putrid, yucky, skanky, beastly;literary miasmic, noisome, mephitic.", foul.  I could see feathers floating to the ground.


Jimmy was the one person that really liked the idea of bacon infused vodka.  So, I offered him the glass containing the bacon infusion.  Again, he looked my directly in the eye and shouted, "Are you trying to poison me?"  He really didn't need to say any more.  I got it.  The blue cheese infusion was bad.  It was a mistake.  I was wrong.  The bacon infusion didn't have a chance.  Blue cheese killed my credibility.  I flew too close to the sun.  I was dropping headlong from the sky.


I couldn't just throw away both vodka infusions.  I had near $50 tied up in this experiment.  At the very least, I had to taste the bacon infusion.  With spectators in the stands, I took a sip.


Although the blue cheese infusion was terrible the bacon infusion wasn't as bad.  It had a strong bacon taste.  I'd have to say, too strong.  The infusion tasted heavy, heavy with oil, or better put, grease.  Maybe half a pound of bacon was too much for the amount of vodka?  I wish I had more patience and figured a way to remove all the grease from the infusion.  Jimmy may have enjoyed the bacon infusion, if he hadn't first tasted the blue cheese infusion.  There were no cheers from the spectators as I crashed into the ground.

Boyd and Blair Vodka

No matter what transpired, I took a risk.  This time I failed.  I don't think I will continue to experiment with blue cheese, bacon and vodka.  I will collect my feathers and place them in a box.  I'll purchase a new bottle of Boyd and Blair.  I'll drink it straight.  I'll fly without the need for feathers and wax.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

My Vodka Infusions - Bacon and Blue Cheese

I had all the ingredients for my vodka infusions.  One pound of bacon, eight ounces of a Spanish blue cheese and one bottle of 80 proof Boyd and Blair potato vodka.  I found two Mason jars in which to infuse my vodka, one for blue cheese, the other for bacon.  I put my cast iron skillet on the stovetop and turned on the heat.  There were plenty of Melitta type coffee filters to go with the Melitta pour over cone.  I was set to infuse.

                  

I fried half the bacon strips until they were crisp and most of the fat rendered off.  The frying bacon filled the house with its sultry smokey aroma.  Everyone had their noses in the air.  With several requests and two pairs of sad eyes, I relinquished that ration of rendered rasher to my salivating spouse and son for some snacking of Stilton and sourdough.  (Phew!  I can't believe I just wrote that.)  I put the remaining uncooked bacon into the pan and started over.  When fried, I placed the newly crisped bacon on a double layer of paper towels, covered the bacon with another double layer of paper towels and applied pressure with the palm of my hand.  I wanted to remove from the bacon as much of the grease as possible.  When the bacon was dry, I was ready to begin the infusions.

                                  

Into each Mason jar I poured half of the vodka.  I put about two ounces of the Spanish blue cheese in the one jar and all of the remaining bacon in the other jar.  I turned on the lids and shook each jar.  I repeated shaking each jar once per day for three days.  On the fourth day I was ready to filter the infused vodkas.

I placed a Melitta type paper filter into the Melitta pour over cone, as I would to filter my drip coffee.  The filtering device was placed atop a clean glass tumbler, a tumbler with a wide enough rim to stabilize the filtering device.  I didn't want to loose any infusion because the cone tilted or fell off the top of the glass.  Now I was ready to filter.

I started with the blue cheese infusion.  I poured the blue cheese-vodka solution into the filter.  Quite a bit of the cheese had dissolved into the vodka.  This solution all but stopped the filtering process with just a few ounces in the filter.  I rocked, jiggled, tapped and lifted the filter to try and get the flow started again.  No luck, the filter was clogged.  I grabbed each side of the paper filter until all four sides were gathered together over the center of the cone.  I lifted the clogged filter trying to keep the vodka from spilling.  With the agility of a prestidigitator, I had the old filter out, the new filter in and the unfiltered vodka poured into the new filter without loosing a drop of the precious liquid.  I scraped all of the cheese from inside the filter onto a plate.  I then squeezed the clogged filter to save every possible drop of vodka.  I must have repeated the above procedure at least four times until the liquid ran freely through the paper filter.

The bacon infused vodka was not as difficult to filter.  The bacon didn't breakdown into fine particles as did the cheese.  Once both solutions were filtered I had two glass tumblers of infused vodka on my kitchen counter.  One was cloudy with a white overcast, the other a transparent amber color.  I transfered the two liquids into two clean plastic Snapple Iced Tea bottles.  I chose plastic bottles because plastic won't break if it freezes.  With the lids snug, I placed both of the bottles into my freezer.  

I saved the vodka infused bacon and blue cheese for future uses in recipes: recipes that will include debauched bacon, possibly a dip, and Bacchic blue cheese, probably a spread.  I couldn't see myself discarding either of them.  I placed each into its own container, then into the refrigerator.    

I expected the vodka infusions to separate in the freezer.  I regularly place fried ground beef into the freezer where the fat solidifies, rises to the top and is easily skimmed off.  But my expectations were unfounded.  It seems that alcohol is lighter, less dense, than bacon grease.  Therefore, the alcohol rose to the top leaving the little bit of grease on the bottom of the bottle.  I guess I could have figured a way to remove the grease, like with a grave pitcher.  But I don't own such a pitcher and being a little impatient, I figured that little bit of grease would be OK and left it in the bottle.

Before I started this project, I told several friends that I was infusing vodka with bacon.  Two of them were intrigued with the idea of bacon in vodka, but repulsed by the sound of blue cheese in vodka.  We planned to the Friday before Christmas, just to spread some cheer.  What could be cheerier than bacon infused vodka?  I planned to bring the infusions to our meeting.  I hadn't tasted either of the infusions.  Together, we would try them on Friday.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Infusing Vodka

I caught part of a radio broadcast the other day, The Dinner Party on my NPR affiliate, WHYY-FM.  On this show was talk of the best non-Polish vodka available in the US and infusing vodka.  After going online and listening to the whole broadcast, I decided I wanted to infuse this potato vodka distilled right here in Pennsylvania.


The infusions they spoke of that intrigued me most were bacon and blue cheese.  I like both bacon and blue cheese.  I thought if I have bacon vodka and blue cheese vodka I could have a balanced meal with just two shots.  I went to the PLCB site to search for Boyd and Blair vodka, the aforementioned best non-Polish potato vodka available in the US.  The results were that all my local state stores should stock the 80 proof Boyd and Blair.  Since there are four state stores nearby, I figured there was a good chance one of them would have a bottle.  I then concentrated on finding some good blue cheese and bacon. 

Source

There are no cheese shops near my home.  The Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop is in my old neighborhood about 12 miles and half an hour away.  Just a bit too far.  I went to Wegmans supermarket in Collegeville, they have the best variety of cheeses compared to any other local supermarket.  I purchased some Spanish blue cheese and a pound of bacon.  I stopped in the Collegeville state store and bought a 750ml bottle of Boyd and Blair 80 proof vodka.  I now had the ingredients to infuse.

Source

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Boyd and Blair - Best Potato Vodka Outside of Poland

Boyd and Blair

I was listening to WHYY-FM, the default station on my car radio, when I heard that Boyd and Blair vodka, made in Pittsburgh, PA was voted the best non-Polish potato vodka available.  Imagine that, the best non-Polish potato vodka made in my own state, a mere three hundred miles from my home.  


I don't really drink vodka.  I think of vodka as fire water; no taste just fire.  The law requires all vodkas be double charcoal filtered.  How can there be any difference in taste if they are all double charcoal filtered?  Doesn't the charcoal filter out all the taste?  But I pride myself on being open minded.  I was willing to try this vodka voted best non-Polish potato vodka.  I like to support local businesses.  After all, Pittsburgh is more local than Warsaw or Vladivostok.

Homemade Limoncello

Boyd and Blair distills two strengths of vodka, an 80 proof and a 151 proof.  The distiller recommended using the 151 proof to create your own cordials, like Limoncella and Creme De Menthe.  Both recipes are on their website.

The discussion on the radio show later turned to infusing vodka. 

I remember the first time I saw infused vodkas, probably thirty / thirty-five years ago.  It was on a visit to a fund raising bazaar at Saint Andrew's Russian Orthodox Church in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.  (My parents are Russian Orthodox.  My paternal grandfather helped start St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox church nearly 100 years ago.  Just two city blocks away, St. Nicholas relieved the overcrowding at St. Andrew's from the influx of eastern European immigrants at the turn of the last century.)  At the bazaar there were four or five, five gallon glass bottled water jugs behind a table.  Each was partially filled with a liquid and marked with its flavoring agent.  Pepper, lemon and black tea were the flavors I remember.  The more I listened to the radio show, the more I yearned to infuse vodka.


Before I started to infuse the vodka, I needed to taste this exceptional vodka.  As I said earlier, I don't drink vodka so I had no experience with differentiating between good (read expensive) and bad (read cheap) vodkas.

Source

In the past, whenever I purchased vodka, I usually purchased Nikolai, because I liked the label and it was inexpensive.  Because all vodkas, by law are double charcoal filtered, in my mind, all vodkas were the same.  So why spend more than I needed?  Being older and wiser, I was willing to taste the best non-Polish vodka available, to see if there is any taste in vodka.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

I found and purchased a bottle of Boyd and Blair in my local PA state store.  Since I have never tasted any premium vodkas - Finlandia, Stolichnaya, Grey Goose, Absolut, Ketel One or Chopin - I wouldn't be able to compare them to the taste of Boyd and Blair.  I could, however, compare it to other liquors I have tasted.  I poured myself a shot.

Source

I put the shot glass near my lips and my first reaction was to the alcohol.  It filled my head with an antiseptic hospital aroma.  It was strong and made me a little light headed.  I lowered the glass down to waist level and took a breath.  I slowly and deliberately brought the glass back to my lips and the strong alcohol smell had subsided.  That or my nose was numb.  Either way, my first sip was nice.  It was like good Irish whiskey, smooth, mild and drinkable.


I had a fresh loaf of French bread on the counter and spread on it a bit of blue cheese.  The vodka paired well with the blue cheese and bread.  That second sip of vodka produced visions in my head of Russians wearing big fur hats eating caviar, sour cream and onions on fresh rye bread interspersed with shots of vodka and deep laughter.  I thought, "I could do this."  It was working for me.  I refrained, though.  I had infusions to make with the best non-Polish potato vodka available. 


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved