Elvis Martini

A week after I concocted my rendition of the Bacon Martini, I picked up a bottle of Bakon Vodka. And now, a friend alerted me to the new NutLiquor peanut butter booze. Clearly there's an Elvis sandwich in there somewhere. ;)

Since the three bottles of flavored booze in this concoction are pretty clear, the focus here is in the fancy garnish. Little 1 inch Elvis sandwiches skewered on a stir stick complete this sweet drink. The King would be proud!

• 1 1/2 oz Bakon Vodka
• 2 oz NutLiquor Peanut Butter Liqueur
• 2 oz Banana Schnapps
• 1 oz Simple Syrup
• Peanut Butter
• Bacon
• Toast
• Banana

Chill an up glass with crushed ice and water. Shake the ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats. Strain into the glass and garnish with miniature Elvis sandwiches* skewered on a stir stick.

*Create mini-Elvis sandwiches by slicing the toast and the bacon into one inch squares. The make a double-decker sandwich by layering the toast, peanut butter, bacon, and a slice of banana.

Bacon Martini

Ann lead me to a bacon martini recipe that a friend posted to his facebook wall. Not sure who the originator was, but I've adjusted the ratios to keep the syrup from overpowering the drink and making it way too sweet. And I bet that you could swap out the Applejack with Apple Schnapps and have an equally tasty drink.

• 2 oz Vodka
• 2.5 oz Applejack Brandy
• 1 oz Disaronno
• 1 tbsp good quality Maple Syrup
• Candied Bacon (see below)
• Raw Sugar Cubes

Chill an up glass with crushed ice and water. Crush the raw sugar into small chunks onto a small plate and run a slice of bacon around the glass rim. Rim the glass with the sugar using the residual bacon grease. Shake all liquid ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats and strain into the glass. Break a piece of candied bacon in half and lay against the glass's side.

Make candied bacon with good thick cuts of bacon and brown sugar. I prefer to use my microwave for bacon as the mess is much less. Put a paper plate or microwave safe dish into the microwave with a couple of paper towels to absorb the grease. Lay a row of bacon across the paper towels and microwave for 2 minutes on high. Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar over the bacon and microwave on high for 3 more minutes. Your times may vary based on the bacon thickness and your microwave brand. The key is to have perfectly cooked bacon without burning the sugar. Watch the cooking carefully and kill the microwave if the sugar starts smoking!