A Mitch Morgan is a

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

that consists of a shot of

bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon ...

served with a piece of fried

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sa ...

as a

cocktail garnish Cocktail garnishes are decorative ornaments that add character or style to a mixed drink, most notably to cocktails. They are used to complement and enhance the flavors in a drink by stimulating the special nerve cells in the nose and mouth A ...

and served in a glass coated on the inside with a thin veneer of bacon grease. The Mitch Morgan is a popular beverage at the Oak the New Fat Alley Barbecue in Telluride,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, where the drink originated. The Mitch Morgan is named after its creator. The drink served as the inspiration for J&D's Down Home Enterprises' popular product

Bacon Salt J&D's Down Home Enterprises, also known as J&D's Foods, was an American company founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow to produce vegetarian based, bacon-related products such as Bacon Salt and Baconnaise. In November 2017, the ...

Outside Telluride

On October 28, 2008, Mitch Morgan shots were served at a charity fund-raising event at Heavens night club in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Washington hosted by J&D's Foods. The event was promoted as "The World's First Charity No Holds Barred Battle To The Death Mayonnaise Wrestling Match" and promoted the launch of J&D's new products Baconnaise and Bacon Lip Balm, the money raised benefited the family of a deceased co-worker. The Mitch Morgans consisted of

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of ...

bourbon and bacon from the "Bacon is Meat Candy Bacon Club." The fund-raiser sold over 1,000 Mitch Morgans, with customers requesting additional slices of the "gourmet bacon" to complement their drink. Mitch Morgan shots were also served at J&D's Foods 2009 charity product launch party The Bacathlon. Hosted on November 19, 2009, The Bacathlon was promoted as The World's First Bacon-Themed Multi-Sport Athletic and Endurance Event that featured an attempt to set the World Record for Bacon Eating. The event promoted the launch of J&D's new products BaconPOP, Bacon Ranch and Mmmvelopes; the money raised benefited Ashley's Team.

Varieties on the theme

The Mitch Morgan is not the only combination of liquor and bacon. Riding the wave of recent

bacon mania Bacon mania refers to passionate bacon enthusiasm in the United States and Canada. Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon-related items have been popularized rapidly via the internet. The movement has been traced to the late 1990s when high-prot ...

, Colum Egan, the master distiller for

Bushmills Bushmills (From Irish ''Muileann na Buaise'') is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available unde ...

, issued a challenge to bartenders in New York City, for

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

in 2008, to concoct drinks based on the traditional Irish breakfast, which of course includes bacon. Two drinks were singled out by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': Jim Meehan of PDT made a drink which consisted of bacon-infused Bushmills combined with maple syrup, orange and lemon juice, and a whole egg; Eben Freeman of Tailor employed bacon-infused Bushmills, served with roasted tomato gelée squares, a poached quail

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

, Irish breakfast-tea foam, and crispy black-pudding bits.

Inspiration for Bacon Salt

In October 2007 Justin Esch (the co-founder of J&D's Down Home Enterprises) and his older brother Christopher Esch were talking about their fondness of Mitch Morgan shots with friends at the Jewish wedding of a childhood friend in New York, some of whom maintained a

Kosher diet Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of '' kashrut'' ( dietary law). The laws of ''kashrut'' apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish ...

, which prohibits the consumption of pork products. The Esch brothers discussed the universal appeal of bacon and determined the world needed a bacon-flavored seasoning salt that could capture the deliciousness of bacon without the dietary issues, resulting in the development of

References

{{Bacon Bacon drinks Cocktails with whisky

Outside Telluride

Varieties on the theme

Inspiration for Bacon Salt

See also

References