Saint John Ale House cooks up bacon-infused vodka.

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Craig Pinhey

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Although trendy, infusion isn't a new technique in the hospitality business. Marinating food before cooking is a manner of infusion. Gio restaurant in Halifax serves infused "house water" using cucumber or melons. I've seen many bars in the U.S. with large glass vats of booze filled with various fruit: their house infusion.

Also, when you think about it, aging wine in oak barrels is infusion; the wine is inundated with nutty, coffee and chocolate flavours that have nothing to do with grapes. My favourite beers use infusion. Cask conditioned real ales are given a handful of fresh hops in the cask, which pass on their grassy, citrus and floral aromatics to the beer before and during their serving period. I'm still waiting for New Brunswick bars to catch onto this tradition.

But bacon? Would you infuse a drink with bacon? Um...sure, why the hell not? Some of the best wines in the world are renowned for bacon flavours "" I'm talking about Syrah-based reds of the Rhone valley, and smoky Pinotage and Cape blends from South Africa. And there are several famous smoked German wheat beers made using smoke-infused malt.

Of course there are the smoky whiskies of Islay in Scotland, made from malt that is dried over peat fires, giving the whisky intense smoky notes.

So why not bacon?

The Saint John Ale House is keen on the concept, thanks to Assistant Manager Shawn Horgan, who launched their bacon martini on Sunday, August 11, from 11 a.m. "" 4 p.m., and will serve it every Sunday in that time frame. Shawn has been travelling the world for 13 months, having a great time while also working at international bars, including in Australia, picking up some of their tricks and trends.

"Infusions are cutting edge on the bar scene now," offers Shawn, "with everything from cilantro rums to strawberry lavender gins. Your imagination is really your limitation when it comes to infusing spirits." Bacon-infused vodka is one of the ideas he's cooked up, and the Sunday morning exclusivity is meant to bring folks in for their post-party brunch. Hey, if you can't stomach a solid breakfast, why not drink your bacon? Throw a fried egg over the side and I'm sold!

While it sounds like Homer Simpson's dream drink, it's actually pretty tasty. I had a chance to preview the drink at a recent visit to the Ale House.

"We infuse our vodka with cooked bacon and let it sit for two-three weeks in a cool dry place," explains Shawn. "We then freeze it to get rid of the fat and strain it through a cheese cloth." They use Smirnoff Vodka, cloudy after the bacon bath, giving it a rather unappealing whitish hue. Shawn uses 1.5 oz of bacon vodka, 0.5 oz of maple "bar-mix", and shakes it with ice. It's served martini style with a slice of fried bacon as garnish, and toast crumbs around the rim. He has an alternate version using flamed orange zest in addition to the bacon. Sounds like breakfast to me!

I tried both and, while I found them quite tasty, I preferred the version with the orange. Both had a pleasing smoky bacon and maple flavour, but the orange zest provided a hint of refreshment. Maybe orange juice ice cubes would work too.

Another staff member took a sip on the way by, claiming: "It tastes like pancakes!" That's a big thumbs-up, I think.

I asked Shawn about egg, and he joked about using quail eggs, but I think he's got the recipe down already. That said, the customers will be the true test. We'll see how many people actually order a bacon martini with their Sunday brunch. I've heard of the 'hair of the dog', but what about 'pig punch'? Actually, the French have their own expression for hair of the dog: Rinse-cochons (rinsed pig: some sort of mix of wine and liqueur).

In the morning, bacon just might taste better. Mmmm, bacon"¦

Craig Pinhey thinks that bacon is the only thing that can take a vegan off the wagon. Visit Craig at www.frogspad.ca.