• J. Henry Bourbon
• 1 pound of dates
• 1 pound of smoky bacon
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1-gallon ziplock bag
• toothpicks
1. Take one pound of dates and empty them into the ziplock bag.
2. Pour J. Henry Bourbon over the dates and cover them all.
3. Cut the vanilla beans into halves, and with the point of the knife scrap, out the seeds of one half and place into the ziplock bag with the dates. Zip the bag closed and give them a good mix every hour. Let them set for a total of four hours.
4. Pre-heat an oven to 375°F, and let come to temp for 15 minutes.
5. After the dates have sat for four hours in J. Henry Bourbon, slice all the bacon strips in half and set to the side.
6. Take each date out one at a time and wrap a slice of bacon around the date and pin it with a toothpick so it won’t come apart.
7. On one medium size cookie sheet with parchment paper, place each wrapped date on the paper and give just enough space so they will cook off correctly.
8. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and set your timer for 45 minutes. Check them at 30 minutes because all ovens cook just a bit differently.
9. When done let cool a bit, and enjoy!
J. Henry and Sons Bourbon was featured in the October|November 2015 issue of Rural Route. Recipe provided courtesy of Pokey’s Smoke on the Water. Photo by Marian Viney.