Smoky Spanish Old Fashioned

Last month I went to a fancy Spanish restaurant and dropped a lot of money on dinner. The best thing I had that night was an amazing cocktail. It was slightly smoky, presented in a smoke-filled cloche and the dome was lifted off with flair tableside. The cocktail was absolutely perfect: a luscious bourbon Old Fashioned (one of my favorites) but slightly different, named Sabor Ibérico, priced at $23. That was probably the cheapest thing we had all night. The other items, while crazy expensive, weren’t matching up when it came to a flavor-to-price ratio, unlike this cocktail.

I asked the server what made it stand out and the bourbon got extra flavor and viscosity via fat-washing with Ibérico jamon, one of the best kind of piggies around. They get to roam free and eat diets of acorns and, as such, are a bit pricey, but extremely delicious. Then there’s the smoke, but the menu also listed Saffron Angostura Bitters, a bitter I’d never seen or heard of before, and that’s because it’s not commercially available. We finished our meal, went to a concert, and when we got out, I saw people still at the restaurant and we excitedly walked in towards the bar. That’s when the evening went downhill.

The front desk staff said they had just closed down. I resorted to begging, and noted there were people still finishing up their meals and people finishing their drinks at the bar. Just one drink, because it was spectacular. I shared how much I spent earlier and asked for a favor. She couldn’t do anything, and was very pleasant and professional; eventually, she asked if I’d like to speak with the manager. I thought that was my in! It wasn’t. After waiting ten minutes, she came to the desk, visibly annoyed, and she was not having any of it. I asked why they closed the bar so early when the neighboring restaurants all had their bars open and were packed. She then gave me side-eye and told me “You’re free to go elsewhere” which absolutely infuriated me and I retorted, because of her, I would never come back to that overpriced restaurant. So, now I present to you Del Mar’s Sabor Ibérico, courtesy of your vengeful blogger.

¡Métetelo por el culo, Fabio Trabocchi!

Spanish Old Fashioned

• 4 oz Ibérico Lardo, minced

• 20 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon

• Fine mesh sieve

• Funnel

• Mason jars

• Rubber band

• Cheesecloth and/or coffee filters

• ¼ cup sugar

• Saffron

• Angostura Bitters

• Smoke gun and hickory chips

• Cloche or large dome

Add your minced lardo to a dutch oven. Place over low heat and render the fat, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the pot contents through the sieve and into a funnel over a mason jar. Discard the remaining minced lardo solids.

Add the bourbon to the jar. Secure the lid, give a good shake, and let it sit on your counter for 4 hours, agitating the jar every hour. After 4 hours, place the jar in your fridge and set for 24 hours.

After this time, most of the fat will have solidified on the top. You’ll either have to remove some fat, or loosen the fat cap. Place some cheesecloth on the jar and secure the ring. Line a clean mason jar with a coffee filter and secure it with a rubber band.

Pour the fat-washed bourbon through the cheesecloth and through the sieve into a small pitcher. Pour the contents of the pitcher through the coffee filter into the clean jar…this will take about an hour. Just pour and come back every 10 minutes, adding more. Once complete, give a good squeeze to the filter and discard. Secure the lid on the jar and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar with ¼ cup of water and 3 pinches of saffron threads in a small pan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside and allow the saffron to steep, infusing the simple syrup, for about an hour, giving the pot a swirl occasionally.

To make the cocktail, place a pinch of wood chips into your smoker gun. Fill the glass/glasses with smoke and invert to trap in the smoke. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Turn the cocktail glass right-side-up, add ice, and pour 4 oz of fat-washed bourbon over the ice cube(s). Then, add in 2 spoonfuls of saffron simple syrup, followed by 6 shakes of Angostura bitters. Give a stir with the spoon.

Load up the gun with more chips, cover the cocktail with a cloche (or other dome) and start filling up the space with smoke. Remove the smoker gun hose and keep the cocktail covered for a few minutes.

Present and serve and enjoy!

______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.