In 2007, Sean Pereira, bar concept head of Colaba's Woodside Inn, was working as chef in London when he first heard of the concept of "washed" cocktails. A certain Don Lee at New York's Please Don't Tell had combined bourbon and bacon to create the Benton's Old Fashioned by infusing a fatty flavour into alcohol. Periera recalls being fascinated by the seemingly bizarre idea. "Of course, it became such a sensation that chefs went berserk experimenting with fat-washing spirits, to the extent of even using grilled cheese sandwich," he laughs. Pereira, too, never quite got over the fascination.

Twelve years later, we are sitting at the quaint Colaba outpost sipping on what is Pereira's take on a Benton's Old Fashioned, now a classic concoction. Here, the cocktail (priced at R695) containing Jim Beam and angostura bitters comes with a bacon candy garnish. While the original inventor hoped to create a drink using "uniquely American flavours", Periera says, it's for anybody who likes bacon and bourbon. And, he's right.