One favorite food pairing of mine is salted caramel with neat bourbon. To bump up the “wow” factor, I’ve included a bit of vanilla-infused simple syrup. To make it, prepare simple syrup as you usually would but add a vanilla bean you’ve cut open—include the vanilla seeds as well as the split beans to the syrup. Then let steep for an hour. This is more of a dessert than a true julep, so julep purists may gasp. But the kid in them will be secretly pleased.
Single serving
2 ounces bourbon
½ ounce salted caramel syrup (Torani preferred)
¼ ounce vanilla simple syrup
2 dashes chocolate bitters
Cracked ice
Mint sprig, whipped cream, additional salted caramel, and kosher salt for garnish
1. Fill a julep cup with cracked ice. Combine cocktail ingredients in a mixing glass or cocktail shaker and stir or shake until well-combined.
2. Strain into the julep cup and top with whipped cream, a drizzle of salted caramel, a sprinkle of salt, and a freshly spanked mint sprig tucked in close to the straw.
Note: This is a super-sweet, crowd-pleasing cocktail, but your bourbon-centric friends might prefer a stronger ratio of bourbon to caramel. Use a higher-proof bourbon for those folks.
Batch to serve 8-10
2 cups bourbon
½ cup salted caramel syrup (Torani preferred)
¼ cup vanilla simple syrup
¼ cup water
8-12 dashes chocolate bitters
Cracked ice
Mint sprigs, whipped cream, additional salted caramel, and kosher salt for garnishing each cocktail
1. In a pitcher or 1-liter bottle, combine all ingredients except the garnish. Stir or shake until the salted caramel combines with the rest of the ingredients. Increase the chocolate bitters as needed to taste.
2. Refrigerate until well-chilled—at least a couple of hours. To serve, fill each julep cup with cracked ice. Pour in the chilled cocktail, top with whipped cream and salted caramel drizzle, and tuck a mint sprig just next to the straw. You might get a little whipped cream on your nose, but it’s Derby, so celebrate.
Find Heather Wibbels’ most recent creations at cocktailcontessa.com or follow her on Instagram @cocktail_contessa.