Bourbon Barbeque Sauce

This was my first go at barbeque sauce so consider it a work in progress.  Bourbon and barbeque sauce are made for each other.   Even if liquor is not your thing it makes a lot of great aromatic sauces and marinades and those are enjoyed by all.  Ingredients follow:        

Bourbon barbeque sauce ingredients.

¾ Cup Bourbon

4 Cloves Garlic

½ Onion

½ Red Bell Pepper

2 Whole Cayenne Peppers

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

½ tsb Salt

½ tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper

1/3 Cup Apple Cider

¼ Cup Worchester Sauce

3 Cups Tomato Juice 

Simmer the bourbon in a sauce pan.  Make yourself a mint julep or old fashioned while the bottle is open.  For a good time combining whiskey and meals check out Epic Meal Time and watch in horror and wonderment.  Dice the onion and bell pepper.  Mince the garlic.  Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and whole cayenne peppers to the bourbon.  Reduce the bourbon by about half and until the onions are translucent 8 - 12 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and reduce on low heat to the desired consistency.  I used juice from fresh tomatoes that packed a lot of liquid and it took 1 hour to reduce to the desired consistency.  The skins and seeds were removed in the juicing process, seeds can add a slight bitterness to a sauce.  Remove the cayenne peppers.  Discard or stem and seed the peppers as desired to adjust the heat.  Add all the ingredients and the optional peppers to a blender and blend for 2 minutes until smooth.  Refrigerate and enjoy.

Bourbon barbeque baked wings using this sauce.

Cajun Barbeque Shrimp with steak, salad, and wine. 

Time could be reduced by using tomato paste or carrots to thicken up the sauce.  Jalapeno peppers may make a better pairing for this sauce than Cayenne peppers.  I ended up putting both cayennes in the blender with their seeds.  I will use jalapenos instead in the future.  A hot pepper is optional.  This sauce is delicious and acts like a Trojan horse for the heat from the peppers to kick you in the mouth.