Bourbon Butterscotch Hot Vanilla

A warm and cozy winter drink, featuring creamy hot vanilla made with vanilla bean paste, and a bourbon infused butterscotch sauce.

Course Brunch, Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings 8 drinks

Calories 455kcal

In a small-medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, bourbon, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the butter is fully melted and incorporated.
Bring the mixture to a boil and let it bubble without stirring for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the heat and mix in the cream and sea salt well.
Transfer the butterscotch sauce to a jar and set aside. It will be fairly thin.

In a large saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and the vanilla bean paste is fully mixed in. Bring the mixture just to a boil then immediately turn off heat, careful not to let it boil over.
In each mug, add 2 Tbsp of the butterscotch. Pour in the hot vanilla to within half an inch from the top of the mug, and then stir in then bourbon. Top with whipped cream and marshmallows as desired.

Make ahead tips:
- You can prepare the butterscotch sauce in advance, and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge. Heat until warm and liquidy before using.
- The hot vanilla tastes best when served the day it is made.
To make a smaller batch: Follow the butterscotch recipe and store any extra, as above. Split the hot vanilla ingredients in half for 4 servings or quarter for 2 servings. It's designed to divide easily, and the instructions are the same.
Make it without alcohol:
- To lower the alcohol, skip adding the bourbon to each mug after adding the hot vanilla. This will cut down the ABV significantly.
- For no alcohol at all, you can also replace the bourbon in the butterscotch with 1 Tbsp alcohol-free vanilla extract stirred into water to total 1/4 cup of liquid.