Name: Bourbon Caramel Sauce (No Thermometer)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups white sugar; ½ cup water; 1 cup heavy cream (room temperature); 6 tablespoons salted butter (diced into small cubes); 2 tablespoons bourbon; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Jump to Recipe

Instantly elevate any dessert with this rich, decadent homemade bourbon caramel sauce. Your favorite ice cream or baked good may be delicious on its own, but with a drizzle of this caramel sauce, you can turn any dessert into a gourmet treat. As a bonus, you don’t need a thermometer to make this bourbon caramel sauce.

A jar of bourbon caramel sauce from up top on burlap and a marble tray.

Jump to:

Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Store
How Long Does It Last?
Perfect Pairing
Got a Sweet Tooth?
📖 Recipe

You want to know the secret to creating an irresistible dessert every time? Top it with this homemade bourbon caramel sauce and call it a day. I've used this homemade caramel sauce for years on so many desserts, and it always gives them a special touch that store-bought caramel can't come close to delivering.

Honestly, it feels like cheating because this homemade caramel sauce is ridiculously easy to whip up, but it’s oh-so delicious. As if that's not enough, you can also make this boozy dessert sauce in under 20 minutes. How’s that for a dessert hack?

Say goodbye to store-bought caramel sauce. After one taste of this quick and easy homemade caramel sauce recipe, you'll never go back.

A straight-on shot of bourbon caramel sauce with a chalkboard sign and flowers in the background.

Ingredients

If you're new to making caramel, you'll wonder why you haven't made a batch yet once you see the simple ingredient list. All you need is the following.

Sugar
Water
Heavy cream
Butter
Vanilla extract or paste
Bourbon

A jar of bourbon caramel sauce turned to the side on a marble tray.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Now that we have our ingredients ready to go, we can start making caramel without bothering to use a thermometer. Rather than using a thermometer, we simply monitor the caramel's color. The process couldn't be easier.

We start by adding sugar and water to a pan and cooking over medium-high heat. About every 20 seconds, we grab the pan handle and gently shake it back and forth a few times, but we never stir the water and sugar mixture.

The sugar and water in a pan starting to simmer.

We continue to shake the pan throughout the cooking process. The mixture will bubble up and gradually begin to darken. First, the mixture will turn a light tan color, but it will continue to darken until it becomes a lovely amber hue, which is what we want. Here are some photos of the darkening process for a point of reference.

The caramel mixture just barely turning tan.

The caramel mixture starting to become golden.

The caramel mixture starting to turn more amber.

The caramel mixture turning amber and ready to be taken off the heat.

Once the water and sugar mixture turn amber like the above photo, we immediately turn off the heat and whisk in our heavy cream. The caramel will bubble like crazy, so don't panic. That's totally normal. Check it out.

The caramel sauce bubbling like crazy after adding heavy cream.

Now we stir in some butter, vanilla and bourbon. Just like the heavy cream, the caramel will bubble up but not quite as much. Just keep whisking until it all smooths out.

Whisking the bourbon caramel sauce until it's smooth and all ingredients are incorporated.

While I love the flavor bourbon adds and never leave it out, you can certainly do so if need be. I've tried this sauce prior to the bourbon addition, and it's still wonderful. No other recipe tweaks are necessary if you leave out the bourbon.

And, of course, you're welcome to use other liquors and liqueurs. Both dark rum and Kahlua are delicious substitutions. I bet amaretto and brandy would also be tasty options.

And look at that. Our homemade bourbon caramel sauce is now ready. Drizzle it on brownies, cookies, ice cream, apple cider, carrot cake or even a festive cocktail and enjoy.

How to Store

Simply store this caramel in an airtight container in room temperature or the refrigerator. The sugar acts as a preservative, so even though this caramel includes cream, it's perfectly safe sitting on your counter. But if that makes you squeamish, go ahead and keep a jar in the refrigerator.

How Long Does It Last?

This bourbon caramel sauce should last for about two weeks at room temperature. That said, I’d be surprised if it keeps that long. You’ll want to eat this caramel by the spoonful, but if you can find some self-control, expect a good two-week shelf life.

If storing in the refrigerator, you can stretch that timeline to about a month. But, seriously, what are you doing with your life if you still have this caramel sauce after a month? You need to enjoy more desserts. True story.

A jar of bourbon caramel sauce with a gold ribbon on a marble tray.

Perfect Pairing

Whenever I pair a beer with a caramel dessert, I almost always reach for a barleywine. With a barleywine, we get plenty of sweet toffee and dried fruit notes that match perfectly, and the residual sweetness from the high alcohol content makes it a good partner to stand up to the rich caramel.

Like the barleywine, an aged tawny port is my go-to pairing for wine and caramel desserts, and this move has never been a bad call. Tawny port has a lot of the same characteristics of a barleywine --- dried fruit, toffee and a touch of nuttiness. As you can imagine, those flavors are all delicious partners to our homemade bourbon caramel.

When you need to give any dessert an extra decadent boost, I hope you try this bourbon caramel sauce.

Cheers!

A jar of bourbon caramel sauce with two spoons and the chalkboard sign.

Looking down into a jar of bourbon caramel sauce after it's set.

Got a Sweet Tooth?

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe