What does “fat-washed” mean?
Fat-washed: Spirit mixed with melted fat (butter, bacon, coconut oil), chilled, then strained. The fat's flavor stays; the grease doesn't.
- Category
- Technique
- Taste
- Rich, savory, rounder and softer texture.
- Strength
- Same as the spirit
- Similar to
- an infused spirit, but with richness
- Also called
- fat washed, fat-wash, fat wash, butter-washed, brown butter washed, bacon-washed, bacon washed, duck fat
The story
Bartender Eben Freeman made it famous in New York around 2007 with brown-butter-washed rum. The same year, Don Lee at PDT created the Benton's Old Fashioned, with bacon-washed bourbon, which made the technique a craft-bar standard.