Bourbon and Honeysuckle Syrup

A mishap while making honeysuckle jelly left us with 6 jars of honeysuckle syrup.

Bourbon lovers may consider this sacrilege, but it’s tasty.

I type while sipping an unbelievably sweet drink so forgive if my storytelling goes astray, I ramble or my writing is a bit more fluid than normal. A few weeks ago Amy made the brilliant decision to try her hand at Honeysuckle Jelly (it’s really delightful). Her first effort didn’t quite gel, so we found ourselves with 6 bottles of something unexpected… Honeysuckle Syrup.

Using an unexpected gift

The syrup is great, goes well on pancakes, yogurt or anything you want to sweeten. But as she stared at the 6 jars of unplanned product, Amy sounded disappointed. Sure, as homesteaders, we would find a use for this gift, but neither of us realized just how we would use the stuff for a few days.

A golden glimpse changed everything

After a long day tending to work, then working on the property, I walked into the kitchen and caught a glimpse of that golden Honeysuckle Syrup. Just then it hit me… this might go really, really well with Kentucky’s signature spirits!

Trial and error never tasted so good

I started with a Mint Julep recipe and just replaced the simple syrup with the Honeysuckle Syrup. It was good, but not “just right”. After about a week of trial and error I mastered what I felt was the perfect homesteader’s drink, a “Homestead Honeysuckle Bourbon”.

You’re probably thinking, how the heck am I going to get my hands on Honeysuckle Syrup? You’re right, your probably won’t unless you come visit us or figure out how to talk us into shipping you a jar. The flowers only last for a short time and are now gone for the year. Next spring we’ll keep our eyes peeled and work on brewing up our special mix… you know, just in case someone wants to buy some for themselves.