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    Home » Recipes » Condiment, Marinade, Sauce

    How to Make Bourbon Salt

    Published: Apr 14, 2021 · Modified: Jul 28, 2025 by Ginny Collins · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

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    This insanely easy two ingredient Bourbon Salt is so quick to make and amplifies the flavor of just anything you decide to put it on.

    Decorative jar filled with bourbon salt.
    It is So Easy to Make Bourbon Salt at Home!
    Contents hide
    1 🧂 Ingredients
    2 📝 Instructions
    3 ❗ Expert Tips
    4 Recipe FAQ
    5 How to Make Bourbon Salt

    Take this recipe as a springboard for your culinary creativity. Try it with wine, whiskey, scotch, or whatever alcohol you like. You will never get bored while creating these insanely delicious flavored salts.

    Making bourbon salt is very straightforward and simple. We used the reduction method, and the results were perfect!

    🧂 Ingredients

    ingredient photo showing aged bourbon and pacific sea salt with labels.
    Just Two Ingredients! My Favorite Type of Recipe!

    Sea Salt – Large, coarse ground salt pulls in all that reduced bourbon for great flavor on anything you cook.

    Bourbon – You don’t need top shelf here so grab a cheaper version and enjoy. Save a bit for yourself too! Chef’s privilege, right?

    📝 Instructions

    process photos showing pouring the bourbon, reducing it on the stovetop, adding the salt and adding to a low temp oven to dry.
    Simple Instructions

    Step One: In a small saucepan, boil the bourbon, stirring occasionally. Reduce to simmer and allow to reduce to about 1-2 ounces. Stir every few minutes.

    Step Two: Remove from the heat and stir in the salt.

    Step Three: Preheat oven to 170 or the lowest it will go. Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan and spread the bourbon salt on it. Put it in the oven and allow it to dry out for about 60-90 minutes. Stir every 15-20 minutes or so. Once the salt is dry and no longer showing any signs of moisture, store in an airtight container for up to three months.

    spreading the bourbon salt on a lined sheet pan to dry in the oven.
    Spread on a Lined Sheet Pan to Dry

    ❗ Expert Tips

    Don’t leave the stove while the bourbon is on. You need to stay near and keep stirring it every couple minutes.

    Watch the salt while it is in the oven so it doesn’t burn. You really just want to dry it.

    Try sprinkling a little bit of this on a Reverse Sear Cowboy Steak for an outrageously amazing cut of meat.

    top down view of a jar of darkened salt made with reduced bourbon.
    Give These as Gifts Too!

    Recipe FAQ

    Is this the same as a finishing salt?

    No, you are going to rub this on your meat before you cook it where a finishing salt you sprinkle at the end to “up the flavor” a bit.

    Can you use Kosher Salt?

    Yes, you can.

    Is this the same as infused salt?

    Almost but not really. When you infuse salt, you will add dried herbs or dehydrated onions/ garlic to salt, mix and seal it up for a couple weeks to allow the flavors to meld together. For the bourbon salt, it is ready to use right after it cools from the oven.

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    Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

    Decorative jar filled with bourbon salt.

    How to Make Bourbon Salt

    This insanely easy two ingredient Bourbon Salt is so quick to make and amplifies the flavor of just anything you decide to put it on.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Drying Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 37 minutes minutes
    Author: Jason

    Equipment

    • Small sauce pan
    • Sheet Pan

    Ingredients

    Bourbon Salt

    • 1 ½ cup Bourbon
    • ½ cup Sea Salt coarse grind

    Instructions

    • In a small saucepan, boil the bourbon, stirring occasionally. Reduce to simmer and allow it to reduce to about 1 – 2 ounces. Stir every couple minutes.
    • Remove it from the heat and stir in the salt.
    • Preheat oven to 170 or the lowest it will go. Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan and spread the bourbon salt on it. Put in the oven and allow to dry out for about 60-90 minutes. Stir every 15-20 minutes or so.
    • Once the salt is dry and no longer showing any signs of moisture, store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

    Notes

    Stove Top: Don’t leave the stove while the bourbon is on. You need to stay near and keep stirring it every couple minutes. 
    Oven Tip: Watch the salt while it is in the oven so it doesn’t burn. 
    Substitute: Whiskey, wine or other liquors in place of the bourbon. 
    Tried this recipe?Mention @kitchenlaughter or tag #kitchenlaughter!
    Ginny Jumping in Tenerife
    Ginny Collins

    Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.

    How to Make Bourbon SaltHow to Make Bourbon Salt
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    1. Christina Dobard says

      November 08, 2025 at 5:44 pm

      Can you use regular table salt?

      Reply
      • Jason Collins says

        February 11, 2026 at 10:15 am

        Christina, I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

        Reply
    2. Staci Lewis says

      January 11, 2025 at 9:00 pm

      Hi,
      Do you have any pictures of what it should look like when you add the salt? Or how long it might take to reduce that much? I’m struggling between reducing not enough and too much 😞
      Thanks!
      Staci

      Reply
      • Jason Collins says

        January 12, 2025 at 3:37 am

        Staci, I let it reduce until the liquid is almost gone. Step 4 in the photos is the consistency I look for. But, I wouldn’t worry too much, as the final step of baking it in the oven will take care of any remaining moisture.

        Reply

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