The Benton’s Previous Customary is a breakfast-inspired trendy cocktail that mixes fat-washed bourbon whiskey, maple syrup, and Angostura bitters. The drink was developed in 2007 by Don Lee on the legendary New York Metropolis bar PDT. Whereas experimenting with totally different culinary methods, Lee stumbled upon fats washing, a way of infusing a spirit with a particular sort of fats, imbuing the liquor with extra taste and texture.

Within the case of the Benton’s Previous Customary, Lee was impressed by the wealthy taste of Benton’s bacon and nation ham. Anybody who has frolicked in Kentucky will let you know that bourbon and nation ham are good collectively. Lee infused smoky nation ham fats right into a bottle of 4 Roses bourbon and sweetened it with maple syrup. The ensuing cocktail was successful at PDT and helped legitimize and popularize the strategy of fat-washing within the mixology world.

Why the Benton’s Previous Customary works

Just like the identify implies, the Benton’s Previous Customary is a variation of the unique cocktail, the Previous Customary. The system of spirit, sugar, bitters, and ice has limitless variations, however what makes this drink distinct is the fat-washed bourbon. By including the rendered fats from a smoky pork product like Benton’s nation ham, the bourbon takes on a smoky, bacon-like taste and aroma that enhances the spirit’s notes of caramel and vanilla. 

The culinary strategy to mixology continues with the usage of maple syrup because the sweetener. This offers the Benton’s Previous Customary a wealthy sweetness, and identical to on a breakfast plate, the maple syrup pairs completely with the smoky pork flavors of the fat-washed bourbon.