A few months ago, hubby and I visited his brother and his wife in Pittsburgh. The boys are big fans of whiskey, so Wes and Meg (brother and sister-in-law) took us to a fairly new establishment called Industry Public House.
IPH's signature drinks include smoked bourbons. Hubs ordered a smoked bourbon and I watched the bartender make it. It was cool to watch! I tried to grab some pictures, but at the time, my phone was busted. Boo.
So I recreated the process here, on YouTube:
Below, I've detailed the way to do this. You can make smoked whiskey for cocktails or for baking; I have some great recipes coming up!
Supplies*:
bourbon of your choice
two tumbler-sized glasses that stack well
a culinary torch or lighter
a handful of culinary wood chips (the smokier flavor, the better)
a metal cocktail shaker
a metal cocktail strainer with a handle
*Some of these items can be found in my Amazon Associate Store if you have trouble finding them.
Step 1:
Have all of your tools and supplies ready. Pour a "healthy" serving of bourbon into a tumbler.
Step 2:
Place the metal strainer on top of the tumbler filled with bourbon. Place a few wood chips on top of the strainer. You can sprinkle a little bourbon on top of the chips, but not too much - you want to make sure that they can catch fire for a little bit.
Step 3:
Using your torch, run it over the wood chips for a good 20-30 seconds; you want them to get nice and hot. When you're ready, place the other tumbler glass over the top of the strainer. It should stack nicely.
This will trap the smoke inside the tumblers; you should see the smoke touching the whiskey. Pretend this is a glass of tea; allow the smoke to steep for 3-5 minutes.
Step 4:
When you're ready, remove the glass and strainer; pour the whiskey and wood chips into the cocktail shaker with ice. Shake a few times. Strain out the ice and chips.
If it's not smokey enough for you, consider changing the types of wood chips you're using or allowing the mixture to steep longer. You can also throw a few drops of Liquid Smoke into the cocktail shaker to increase the smokiness.
Cheers!
-Aileen
