Whisky Caramel Sauce

Add this Whisky Caramel Sauce to your dessert list this holiday season! Coming from someone who doesn’t like caramel, this sauce is really something else. Sweet, buttery, nutty, boozy and a bitter end from the whisky. Complex and not too sweet at all!

This sauce is inspired by our recent trip to Seattle. On our first night there, we ate at Rondo Japanese Kitchen in Capitol Hill. It’s a Japanese izakaya. We love all the food, especially the aburi salmon battera sushi and Mr. pork ribs. But the most surprising and memorable was the Toki whisky soft serve. It’s a soft serve topped with a whisky caramel sauce. Oh my god, it was simply amazing! Boozy and not too sweet. We usually don’t like caramel, but we just couldn’t get enough of it. Bryan finished the huge bowl of soft serve all by himself.

After we came back home and I want to create my own version. But first, what kind of whisky to use? Luckily, we have 7 different bottles of whisky at home. Some are gifts and some we bought a while back. So, Bryan and I did a whisky tasting. Some have smokey taste, some have oaky note, some are more vanilla forward. At the end, we decided to go with the one that is more vanilla-y with mild oak flavor and a hint of spice. We think this flavor profile would pair best with the caramel. And the one is Suntory Toki, which is the same one in the restaurant. We really like Nikki Coffey Grain too, but Toki is much more inexpensive. If you already have tons of whisky at home, find the one that has a good note of vanilla, but not smoky or sour.

Caramel sauce is actually fairly easy to do. First, start with a heavy duty stainless steel saucepan. Light color pan will let you to see the color of the sugar much easier. Add the sugar to the pan and cook over medium heat. Stir constantly to make sure the sugar melts evenly. After a minute or so, the sugar will start to melt and some will clump together. Keep cooking and stirring. In a few minutes, the sugar will melt into a light yellow color. Once it’s melted, stop stirring and let the color darken to a deep amber. Now, turn off the heat.

Carefully add the butter and whisk. The caramel will bubble. It’s normal. Just be extra careful. When it’s combined, slowly stir in the heavy cream. Use a room temperature or slightly warm heavy cream will reduce the bubbling. Whisk until smooth. At this point, you may see small clumps of melted sugar stuck together. If it’s just a little bit stuck to the pan or whisk, don’t worry about it. But if there is a lot, turn the heat back on to low and melt the sugar back into the sauce.

Last, add the salt, vanilla and whisky. Salt is to balance out the sweetness of sugar. Vanilla will enhance the vanilla flavor in the whisky. Most importantly, for the whisky, I recommend using 3 tablespoons. It sounds like a lot, but you will need that for the flavors to come through.

Let the caramel sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before transferring to an airtight glass container. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Caramel will thicken as it cools. Reheat in microwave to get back to the very runny consistency.

This caramel has a very complex flavor. It’s sweet, buttery, nutty, boozy, and with a bitter note from the whisky. No doubt, this is and will be the only caramel ever exists in my home. It’s so damn good! Drizzle on your favorite ice cream, pancakes, waffles or any desserts you prefer. It will make perfect gift for the holidays too!

Print Pin

Whisky Caramel Sauce

Makes 1½ cups

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword caramel, caramel sauce, dessert, easy, suntory whisky toki, whisky, whisky caramel

Servings 24 people

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (71 grams)(cut into cubes)
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream (room temperature or slightly warm)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt or flaky sea salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons whisky (like Suntory Toki & Nikki Coffey Grain)

Instructions

• In a medium heavy duty stainless steel saucepan, add sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heat-resistant spatula. Sugar will clump together at first, but will melt into liquid, about 5 – 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the color. It will start from light yellow to deep amber.
• When it's deep amber color, turn off the heat immediately. Carefully whisk in the butter. The caramel will be bubbling. Once the butter is combined, slowly pour in the heavy cream while whisking constantly. Whisk until smooth. Some caramel may harden and stuck together on the whisk or on the saucepan. If there is a lot clumps, turn on the heat to low and melt back into the sauce. If there is only a tiny bit, don’t worry about it.
• Stir in salt, vanilla and whisky. Caramel will thicken as it cools. Let cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Transfer to an airtight glass container. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• To use, either use as it is or warm in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to bring back to very runny consistency. Drizzle on your favorite dessert.

Notes

1. For whisky, I used Suntory Toki. Pick a whisky that is inexpensive with a vanilla note and mild oak flavor. If you don’t want to buy a big bottle, try to find mini bottles of Suntory Toki from local liquor store.
2. I recommend using 3 tablespoons of whisky for the sauce. It sounds like a lot, but you will use the sauce in different things and you want the whisky flavor to be prominent.