A Sip of Bacon, Anyone?

Travel Blog  •  David Farley  •  02.11.09 | 2:00 PM ET

Bacon may have officially jumped the shark, but don’t tell that to Pankaj Kumar Dogra, recent recipient of the “Bartender of the Year” award in Mumbai, and chief mixologist at the Taj Lands End’s Atrium Bar in the posh Bandra neighborhood of Mumbai. Dogra has just conceived a cocktail list called “Dinner Meets the Bar.” And one of the stars of the list is—wait for it—a bacon-infused vodka cocktail.

Being both intrigued and fatigued at the bacon-makes-you-cool phenomenon, I couldn’t resist trying the porkified potion during a recent visit to India’s largest metropolis. The result: the tomato-water adds a pink hue to the drink, giving it a cosmo-like look. Then your taste buds kick in and, well, it’s like drinking liquid bacon. But not cooked bacon; it actually tastes like liquid raw bacon. Despite fears of a possible tape worm, I finished the drink and moved on to others on the list, hoping to erase the liquid bacon from my memory (and taste buds). The martini blended with betel leaf did just that. So did the ginger-rum cocktail muddled with curry leaf. The balsamic vinegar and vodka was interesting, but a bit too Ferran Adria for my liking. By the time I had moved on to the basil and rum cocktail—an intriguing yet harmonious pairing—I was successful in erasing the bacon-infused libation from my memory. The only problem was that I had managed to erase just about every other memory of that evening, as well.

Tags: Bars and Pubs, Beer, Wine and Cocktails, Food, Asia, India, Mumbai, News and Briefs


2 Comments for A Sip of Bacon, Anyone?

Sophia Dembling 02.11.09 | 8:51 PM ET

You are a very brave man.

Jenna Schnuer 02.11.09 | 9:24 PM ET

I’m not usually a vodka girl but that balsamic vinegar drink sounds lovely.

Back on bacon, when you return to NY, bacon-infused bourbon awaits at PDT. I haven’t had it yet but must admit that I find the idea rather enticing. (But that may be more about the bourbon than the bacon.) Or maybe I’ll just make it at home—NY mag has a how-to video on it:

http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/04/make_pdts_baconinfused_oldfash.html

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