A riff on a Brown Derby cocktail, this version uses bourbon infused with brown butter for a slightly complex, but deliciously balanced cocktail.

My friend Tyler from Schmidty Bakes creates incredible small batch dessert recipes, and does a really fun Cookie Week every holiday season on Instagram. I love Cookie Week, and was so excited when he asked me to collaborate with him this year to create a fun cocktail pairing to go with his Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies!

His cookies have the deliciously nutty flavor of browned butter, so I wanted to incorporate that same magic into a cocktail. I’ve been on a bourbon kick recently (actually, like all the time), and felt like it would be a perfect choice to infuse with a little brown butter. Then, I took a Brown Derby cocktail concept (which consists of bourbon, grapefruit juice, and honey syrup), and stepped it up a notch with the brown butter infused bourbon, a fall-spice infused honey syrup, and an egg white to make it lean towards a “sour” cocktail with a luscious, velvety texture. I think you’re going to love it!

Two vintage wine glasses with a silky cocktail filled to the top of each one. A dehydrated orange slice lies on top of each cocktail, and cookies surround the drinks.

Ingredients

For the Brown Butter Bourbon (makes 1 cup):

1 cup Bourbon
2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

For the Spiced Honey Syrup (makes about 1/4 cup):

1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Water
10 Whole Cloves
5 Whole Black Peppercorns
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

For the Brown Butter Derby Cocktail (makes 2):

4 oz. Brown Butter Bourbon
3 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 oz. Spiced Honey Syrup
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
2-3 dahes Angostura Bitters
1 Egg White

A jigger of bourbon being poured into a clear cocktail shaker.

Ingredient Notes and FAQs

Brown Butter Bourbon

This is so much fun to make (and consume), but if you don’t have the time to do it, that’s ok! Straight bourbon will also work, and will still be delicious. I love to use Four Roses (yellow label) for bourbon infusions.

Honey

A quality honey is ideal for this recipe. I love buying local honey, and recommend it if you have the ability to do so.

Fresh Grapefruit Juice

Freshly squeezed citrus is non-negotiable in my cocktail recipes, as it makes the biggest difference in the taste. The only substitute I can recommend for freshly squeezed grapefruit juice is Simple Grapefruit. The same goes for lemon juice, but I don’t recommend using anything but freshly squeezed juice when it comes to lemons. 🙂

Egg White

Egg white is a popular cocktail ingredient in sour cocktails, and adds a creamy, velvety texture to the cocktail. Aquafaba (which is the liquid in a can of chickpeas) is a fantastic substitute for egg white in cocktails, too. I recommend using one teaspoon of aquafaba per cocktail if you choose to use it as a substitute.

Tyler’s cookies are so delicious, so I really wanted to provide an equally delicious cocktail to pair with them. We loved how the warm notes of the spiced honey syrup played with the tartness of the fresh grapefruit juice, and both balanced so nicely with the brown butter infused bourbon. It may seem like a lot, but it’s absolutely worth it! (And really, truly, not a ton of work!)

Directions

How to Make a Browned Butter Bourbon Derby Cocktail

1. Make the Brown Butter Bourbon. Heat two tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until it starts to foam, whisking frequently as it cooks. The color still start to change into a brown hue. Continue whisking until all of the butter is browned and has a nutty aroma. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and transfer the butter to a shallow, non-reactive dish that has a lid. Allow the browned butter to cool briefly, then stir the bourbon into the dish to combine the two together.

Seal the container and let it rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Pop it into the freezer for at least 3-4 hours, but up to overnight. The butter will separate from the bourbon, but will infuse the bourbon with its flavor. Strain the bourbon through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a container in which you’ll store it. Discard the butter.

2. Make the Spiced Honey Syrup. Combine the water and honey in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add whole cloves, black peppercorns, and cinnamon. Stir to combine, then until the honey is dissolved into the water. Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Strain the honey syrup into a storage bottle, and discard the cloves and peppercorns.

3. Make the Cocktails! Combine brown butter bourbon, fresh grapefruit juice, spiced honey syrup, fresh lemon juice, bitters, and egg white into a large cocktail shaker. Dry shake (without ice) for about 20 seconds. Add a handful of ice to the shaker, then shake for another 20 seconds. Strain the cocktail through a fine mesh sieve into two chilled coupe glasses (or glassware of your choice), and garnish with dehydrated citrus or a grapefruit twist.

Grapefruit juice being poured into a clear cocktail shaker.

Be sure to use a large cocktail shaker that can hold everything comfortably, and use one with a lid that closes tightly!

The spiced honey syrup only makes enough for 2-3 cocktails, but you can easily double or triple the recipe for it if needed. If you do double it, you can still use the same amount of whole cloves (ten), but increase the black peppercorn count to ten, and the ground cinnamon amount to 1/2 teaspoon.

A woman straining an egg white out of an eggshell and into a cocktail shaker.

The egg white adds a creamy mouthfeel to this cocktail, but it can be substituted with aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) if you prefer not to use it. If you want to omit it entirely, that’s okay too! But you should at least give it a shot first before you make that call. 😉

A frothy cocktail being poured from a cocktail shaker into a vintage wine glass.

This cocktail will look very creamy at first, but the layers will eventually settle and separate to create a foamy, frothy top.

A woman placing a dehydrated orange slice on top of a frothy cocktail in a vintage wine glass.

I love using dehydrated citrus as garnish! These are orange slices, but any citrus (lemon, lime, or grapefruit) will work. I have a blog post coming out soon on how to make them yourself, but google will help with that for now!

How to Store Browned Butter Bourbon

The infused bourbon should be stored in the refrigerator, and will keep up to one month!

More Small Batch Cocktail Recipes

Don’t forget to check out Tyler’s small batch Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies, too! And all of his other incredible small batch dessert recipes!

If you make these Brown Butter Derby Cocktails and love them, please leave a comment and / or star rating below! You can also share them on Instagram and tag me, or use the hashtag #aflavorjournal so I can see them! If you have any questions about the ingredients or how to make it, send me an email so I can help out.

xx Sara