This weekend, Jim and I headed out to the Sandstone Distillery outside of Tenino, WA. We were looking for something to do on a rainy Sunday when I thought, “Hey – let’s go tour a nearby distillery.” After a little Googling, I discovered Sandstone, which had this on its website: bacon-flavored whiskey. Bacon. Whiskey. How could I not go? How?
And so, off we went to the distillery, where we were treated to a lovely tour on one of the most delicious smelling places I’ve ever been! Next, they brought out their wonderful spirits and let us taste. Along with the bacon whiskey, we tasted vodka, rosemary vodka, gin, black gin, white whiskey, garlic and chive vodka, barrel aged whiskey, and 124 proof whiskey. All were outstanding and really delicious, and I got excited thinking of all the different cocktails I could come up with.
The bacon white whiskey is made from infusing their white whiskey with bacon from local pigs that actually are fed some of the byproducts of grain from the distillery’s whiskey making process. It is delicious with a smokey bacon flavor that’s not over the top.
The vodka is smooth and delicious. I liked it better than my standard go-to vodka, Tito’s. The rosemary vodka, especially when mixed with a little lemon, tastes like summer in a glass. The gin isn’t overpowering in its juniper flavor and is really lovely. The garlic and chive vodka, which isn’t yet for sale, was surprising and not overpowering. I think I could come up with a cocktail or two for it – or at least a few recipes where I could cook with it. The black gin has a lovely licorice finish because it is infused with star anise (hence the name black gin), and it’s very smooth. The barrel-aged whiskey tastes like a single-malt scotch, also smooth and tasty. And the white whiskey is smooth and a delicious sipper.
We came home with the bacon white whiskey (naturally), the vodka, rosemary vodka, and black gin. And now I start making cocktails. First up was the bacon white whiskey. I think it’s only available at the distillery, so if you’re not local, you may want to substitute bacon vodka or something similar. You could even infuse vodka or whiskey with a few slices of cooked bacon. If you’re a paleo dieter, the drink is sort of paleo if you include a little whiskey in your diet from time to time (raising hand – I do!).
Maple Orange Bacon “New Fashioned”
- 1 shot Sandstone Distillery Bacon White Whiskey
- Juice of half an orange
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
- Soda water
- Ice
- Orange slice
In a Collins glass, combine the whiskey, orange juice, maple syrup, soda water, and ice. Garnish with the orange slice.
I’ll let you know what I come up with as I experiment with the other spirits we brought home.
The Modern Ancestor 