The State Fair of Texas Bacon Margarita: Reimagined

The bacon margarita from Isaac Rousso nabbed this year's Big Tex Choice Award for "Most Creative," and we certainly won't argue with that; but alas, due to the State Fair's restrictions on liquor, it contains no actual tequila and is actually a wine-based drink.

Tortured by thoughts of what could have been, Eater Dallas asked the meat and booze kings at Greenville Avenue's Blind Butcher to come up with their own take on this weird drink. A collaboration between chef Oliver Sitrin and bartender Chris Young, the Blind Butcher's bacon margarita begins with — what else — bacon tequila.

Tequila Cabeza from Jason Kosmas's The 86 Co. is utilized for a three-day fat-washing process: liquid bacon fat is added to the spirit at room temperature and left to infuse, then chilled until the fat solidifies and can be skimmed off. The resulting smokey, porky spirit is then combined with bacon simple syrup, fresh lime juice, and egg white, and anointed with a black pepper-bacon rim before being garnished with a piece of house-cured jowl bacon.

The bacon margarita is available now at the Blind Butcher for $10.