Touching story on drinking your grandfather’s last sip of bourbon.

Drink alcohol. Quite a bit. Mostly bourbon.

Drinking rules. Related: food rules.

FRANK SINATRA, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something.

I like this sentence from Frank Sinatra has a Cold.  I also like bourbon and Frank Sinatra.

The perfect cocktail?

I think I’d substitute bourbon for vodka, but I present to you Mr. Stinky Pants. And, it’s worth pointing out that pickle juice is the “must have bar ingredient” of 2010. In fact, I have some pickle pops in the freezer I’m going to be adding to a Bloody Mary in the very near future.

• 1 oz. Vodka Bourbon
• 1/2 oz. Pickle Juice
• Beer (chaser)

I can’t decide if I’m in love or totally grossed out. One thing is for certain, I will try to make my own bacon bourbon.

First, you fry up several thick slabs of bacon. Keeping the pan on the fire, you remove the meat and pour in a few cups of bourbon–Patterson House uses Four Roses–and stir. Then you set the mix aside to cool. As the temperature drops, the fat congeals, creating a thick film on top of the liquor. Once it’s done, you cut a hole in the grease, pour out the liquid, et voila!

I’m thinking you use the cooked bacon as a stir rod. Oh, I almost forgot, the best part of the whole thing is the description from the author.

I expected it to taste greasy and salty; instead, it was dry and smoky, with a hint of meat.

This past Christmas at my house I was flipping through one of my mom’s cooking magazines and found this recipe that I want to try soon (I would have tried it sooner, but just found the scrap paper in the back of a closet).

Ingredients

• 12 cups water
• 2 cups dark roast coffee
• .5 cups powder creamer
• .3 cups cocoa
• .35 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 10 tablespoons bourbon
• 10 tablespoons whipped cream

Directions

1. boil water
2. add coffee
3. remove from heat, let stand for 15 min
4. pour through strainer into large saucepan
5. combine creamer, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and red pepper
6. add combination to pan, stir and whisk
7. add bourbon and whipped cream

I’ll skip the gin and opt for a Bourbon Rickey, like it was meant to be.

The Rickey is a category of mixed drinks made from a base spirit, half of a lime squeezed and dropped in the glass, and topped with carbonated water. Little or no sugar is added to the Rickey. Originally made with Bourbon whiskey, the Rickey was invented in Washington, D.C. around 1883 at Shoomaker’s bar by bartender George A. Williamson, purportedly in collaboration with Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joe Rickey.

• 2 oz. Bourbon
• 1 small orange slice
• 1 tablespoon Vermont maple syrup
• 2 dashes bitters

Muddle the orange slice at the bottom of the glass, add ice, add syrup, add bourbon, and stir.

Two please: Old-Fashioneds garnished with blood oranges and homemade maraschinos.