Salted Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce

Bourbon butterscotch is like a grown-up version of salted caramel. It leans heavily on the rich flavors of browned butter and brown sugar to create its signature dark color and smooth, thick texture. When it’s almost done, instead of adding vanilla extract we swap in bourbon whiskey to add notes of earthy oak, warm spices, and vanilla. What you get is a rich, glossy sauce that can be used anywhere you’d use caramel: drizzle it over ice cream, stir it into coffee drinks, or just sneak it spoonful by spoonful while no one else is looking. I won’t tell!

To me nothing says fall like the taste of butterscotch. Caramel, apples, and pumpkin do come close, but they just can’t outshine butterscotch in my book. Especially when it’s my homemade bourbon butterscotch sauce.

It is rich with a unique flavor created partly from the dark brown sugar and partly from the underlying notes in the bourbon. It’s a delicious topping for lots of fall treats. Use it as dip for fresh apple slices. Drizzle it on roasted sweet potatoes or squash. Wrap it up and give it away as a homemade gift. You really can’t go wrong!

How to Make Salted Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce

• Melt the Butter: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it becomes foamy and starts to brown slightly around the edges. This deepens the flavor.
• Add Brown Sugar: Stir in the brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Watch for tiny bubbles forming at the edges—this is your cue that the sugar is dissolving and caramelizing. Make sure it doesn’t burn!
• Add the Cream: Carefully pour in heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up and expand rapidly—this is normal. Stir gently to combine.
• Add Flavor and Salt: Stir in the bourbon (or vanilla) and salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. The sauce should thicken slightly and have a glossy finish.
• Remove from Heat: Once the mixture has tripled in size and thickened, remove the pan from heat. Let the sauce cool in the pan. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Butterscotch vs Caramel

In the world of culinary baking some of the biggest differences are a result of the smallest details. Take caramel and butterscotch for example. They both include sugar and butter, they both can be made in a variety of consistencies from a syrupy sauce to a hard brittle candy, and they both are sticky sweet and hard to resist. (In my world they are both better than chocolate, but that’s another topic for another day.)

Where they differ is in the type of sugar. Caramel uses white sugar, while butterscotch uses brown sugar. When I first created my bourbon caramel sauce, I thought that the dark brown sugar would give it a richer flavor. It did, but that one swap meant I was no longer making caramel. I was making butterscotch instead!  Obviously the results were great, because from there I made my butterscotch apple crisp and this butterscotch peach crisp. 

Why Bourbon Instead of Vanilla?

Have you ever noticed that store bought vanilla extract tastes awful? Did you know that it is required by law to taste awful? Thanks to prohibition, the bourbon I can buy in stores tastes better than any store bought vanilla extract, while still having many of the same underlying flavor components. With only 5 total ingredients in this sauce, that is important.

Most bourbon also has a similar alcohol content as vanilla extract. Bourbons usually fall around 40% – 45%, while vanilla extract is legally required to have a minimum of 35% and usually falls between 35% and 40% alcohol. This is also thanks to prohibition.

When baking with bourbon, the bourbon, like vanilla, is being used as a flavoring agent to enhance the existing flavors in the sugar, butter, and cream. This means you can replace the bourbon with vanilla (especially if you have a quality homemade version) or you can also choose to omit it. No, it won’t taste the same but if you don’t miss the bourbon, neither will your tastebuds. (*If you need a rabbit hole on how prohibition impacted vanilla, check out this BonAppetit article.)

Storage Instructions 

Leftover bourbon butterscotch sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container. It will firm up as it chills, but can be scooped while cold or reheated in 20 – 30 second increments in your microwave. WARNING: Select a storage container that gives the sauce space to double in size while reheating. If you do make a mess in your microwave, it cleans up easiest while still warm and a wet rag will melt any stuck on sugar.

Salted Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce

Bourbon butterscotch is like a grown-up version of salted caramel. It leans heavily on the rich flavors of browned butter and brown sugar to create its signature dark color and smooth, thick texture. When it's almost done, instead of adding vanilla extract we swap in bourbon whiskey to add notes of earthy oak, warm spices, and vanilla. What you get is a rich, glossy sauce that can be used anywhere you'd use caramel: drizzle it over ice cream, stir it into coffee drinks, or just sneak it spoonful by spoonful while no one else is looking. I won't tell!

4.5 stars (6 ratings)

prep: 5 minutes minutes

cook: 10 minutes minutes

total: 15 minutes minutes

servings: 12 servings

author: Renee N Gardner

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoon bourbon or vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup of butter until foamy.
• Add in 1 cup of brown sugar and continue to cook 3 – 5 minutes or until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan.
• Stir in cream, 1/2 tsp salt, and bourbon or vanilla and continue to cook over medium heat.
• Mixture will bubble up and expand. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• Once the mixture has tripled in size remove from heat and allow to cool slightly in the pan.

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Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoonsCalories: 173kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 0.4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 166mgPotassium: 37mgSugar: 18gVitamin A: 382IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is for general information purposes only. For the most accurate information, calculate using your select brands and exact measurements.

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