Spicy bourbon maple syrup being poured over waffles from a white pitcher.

4.58 / 7 votes

Spicy Bourbon Maple Syrup

I drenched my first attempt at chicken and waffles in pure maple syrup, and it was…an unmitigated disaster. Nothing but sweet stickiness. That’s when I reached for the bourbon. And a little cayenne and hot sauce lent the maple sweetness some depth and balance

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Condiments

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 198

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup pure maple syrup
▢ 3 tablespoons bourbon*
▢ 2 tablespoons (1 oz) salted butter
▢ 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

US - Metric

Instructions

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the maple syrup, bourbon, and butter just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir in the cayenne pepper and remove from the heat. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Notes

*What can I substitute for bourbon?

There's an entire family of alcohol that's closely related (unless you're an aficionado of one in particular and then all bets are off). Bourbon can only be called bourbon if it's been made in the USA and is at least 51% corn mash. In Canada, the very same thing is called whiskey (also called rye or rye whiskey but it's still mostly corn). Scotch is in the same family, except that it's mostly barley and the casks are older. So...you can sub in whiskey, whisky, Scotch, or even a light rum and get a great result. Use what you like to drink and you can't go wrong.

Nutrition