Cherry Bitters

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CHERRY BITTERS

12 oz dried tart cherries

1 oz milk thistle

4 oz lemon peel

1 tablespoon black walnut leaf

1 tablespoon bitter blend (rose petal, burdock, milk thistle, dandelion, apple, barberry, fennel, fringe tree)

1 tablespoon wormwood

2 teaspoons clove

4 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons vanilla

Place 4 oz of cherries in an empty 750mL bottle and fill with 101 bourbon

Repeat with the rest of the cherries (3 bottles in total)

Place the milk thistle and walnut leaf in an empty 750mL bottle and fill with 100 rye

Place lemon peel in an empty 750mL bottle and fill with 100 (or higher) vodka

Place bitter blend and wormwood in an empty 750mL bottle and fill with 100 rye

Place the remaining ingredients in an empty 750mL bottle and fill with 101 bourbon

Shake all ingredients daily

After one week strain out bitter blend bottleAfter three weeks strain out all but cherry filled bottles

After four weeks strain out cherry filled bottles

Blend all liquids together to achieve desired flavor profile

Add 6 oz honey vodka (42 Below) (for added complexity)

Add 4 oz Amaro Nonino (for needed sweetness, texture and complexity. Caramelized sugar would also do)

Taste again and make adjustments if necessary (perhaps sugar if too bitter)

if one flavor is too subtle, take the leftover solids that have been filtered and add water and cook over heat

to extract more flavor: add to mix until balanced

Filter the resulting bitters

Place bitters in shiraz-soaked French oak cask and age for two months

Extract bitters from barrel and filter again


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Add two liters of water and stir

Bottle

Depending on your cherries your finished product may or may not have enough cherry flavor. The first time I made

my cherry bitters, this was the case. An easy fix that doesnt entail you having to wait for more cherries to infuse

would be to add a couple of ounces ofCherry Heering. Remember, there are no rules here, you are just trying to

make a complex, flavorful bitters that will work in cocktails. How you get there is your business.

As the cherry bitters recipe is quite complex, Ill give you the recipe to a brand of bitters that were probably more

popular than even Angostura in Jerry Thomas day: Bokers Bitters. (If youre reading Jerrys bookand see a

reference for Bogarts bitters, they are actually one and the same. Its a typo)

BOKERS BITTERS(from Workshop Receipts, 1883)

1 oz quassia

1 oz calamus

1 oz catechu (powdered)

1 oz cardamom

2 oz dried orange peel

Macerate for 10 days in 1 gallon strong whiskey, and then filter and add 2 gal. water.

Color with malva flowers.

UPDATE: After tasting an actual sample of the real deal (thanks Stephan) it came to my attention that the original

Bokers were sweeter with a definite coffee aftertaste. To this end Ive decided to add 9 oz of Tia Maria (not

Kahlua) to the batch in order make this replica more exacting.

Just remember my rules for separating the ingredients (the cardamom is especially strong in this and will probably

be the first thing that I would strain out) and filtering and this is an easy one to make.

Also, the amount of water called for is to make aperitif bitters, were trying to make cocktail bitters, so lets only

add 12 oz of water.

Seeing as we dont have the kind of whiskey as was called for in the 1800s, I put the orange peel in vodka, the

cardamom and catechu in 151 rum and the rest in 100 bourbon.

There you have it, you are now on your way to making an endless supply of bitters, limited by only your

imagination and palate. Let me know how yours turned out, and if you have some extra, send it my way!
http://www.heering.com/http://www.heering.com/http://www.heering.com/http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=QDUEAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerry+thomas&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=juMhslPSW3&sig=xvyWtVnqrhtn2QrW5OmC99_-kLI#PPA1,M1http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=QDUEAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerry+thomas&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=juMhslPSW3&sig=xvyWtVnqrhtn2QrW5OmC99_-kLI#PPA1,M1http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=QDUEAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerry+thomas&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=juMhslPSW3&sig=xvyWtVnqrhtn2QrW5OmC99_-kLI#PPA1,M1http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=QDUEAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerry+thomas&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=juMhslPSW3&sig=xvyWtVnqrhtn2QrW5OmC99_-kLI#PPA1,M1http://www.heering.com/


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In Bloom BittersThis homemade bitters recipe works especially well in cocktails with tequila, gin, rum or mezcal. It's easy to make,and the resulting bitters are loaded with flavor.

1 750 ml. bottle El Dorado 151 rum2 sprigs fresh lavender5 fresh rose petals

5 fresh sage leaves1 1/2 tsp. gentian root powderPeel from 2 grapefruits (white pith removed)Peel of 1 lemon (white pith removed)3 whole star aniseTools: large airtight container, strainer, cheesecloth

Combine all ingredients in an airtight container and allow to macerate for 3 to 4 weeks, shaking daily. Scoop out thesolids with a slotted spoon, then filter the liquid through cheesecloth. Adjust the flavor by stirring in cup sugar orsimple syrup and cup water to start, adding more to taste.NOTE: You may substitute dried herbs in place of thefreshjust start tasting daily after two weeks, until desired strength is reached.

Choosing Ingredients for Krangostura Bitters

Aromatic bitters are big on holiday spices likeclove, cinnamon and nutmeg, but for

these I really wanted the clove to dominate. You'll also be using mace, which has a

bitter nutmeg flavor with clove undertones, and Indonesian cinnamon, whose low levels

of essential oils make it the meekest-flavored cinnamon on the market.

Angostura bitters, as bitter as they are, have a profound sweetness to them as well, so

this recipe includes raisins, molasses, and muscovado syrup for depth and the

peels of fresh Meyer lemons and Cara Cara oranges for their low acidity to ensure thatbright fruitiness without overpowering the spices. If you can't find Meyer Lemons and

Cara Cara oranges, regular lemons and navel oranges can be substituted.

Finally, to make this heady brew an actual bitters, there's a healthy dose

ofgentian (available as chips and twigs fromMountain Rose Herbs) andcinchona

bark(available at Kalustyans andHerbs of Mexico.) You can get powdered versions,

but they'll be trickier for filtering than the chips and twigs.

You'll start your bitters with the highest-proof neutral spirit you can find. A neutral

spirit is important because you want a blank canvas to start with, and strength-wise, the

higher the proof the faster and more intense the infusion will be. ChooseEverclear

190, Devil's Spring (160 proof), or Polmos Warszawa Spirytus Rektyfikowany (190

proof).
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search/search.php?refine=y&keywords=gentian&x=0&y=0http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search/search.php?refine=y&keywords=gentian&x=0&y=0http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search/search.php?refine=y&keywords=gentian&x=0&y=0https://herbsofmexico.com/store/bulk-herbs-to-z/h/cinchona-barkhttps://herbsofmexico.com/store/bulk-herbs-to-z/h/cinchona-barkhttps://herbsofmexico.com/store/bulk-herbs-to-z/h/cinchona-barkhttps://herbsofmexico.com/store/bulk-herbs-to-z/h/cinchona-barkhttp://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search/search.php?refine=y&keywords=gentian&x=0&y=0


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Maceration Method

To make your bitters, you'll add all the spices and molasses to your airtight container

and cover with the alcohol, then store in a dark place. Tuck it away in the darkest part of

the closet. If you have a Narnia, by all means store it with your friend Mr.

Tumnus. Every day, take it out and give it a shake.

Some people create separate tinctures of each ingredient and then blend them to create

the final product. This isn't ideal, since the flavors never really get a chance to meld

together and develop during maceration, resulting in a product that deals in surface

flavors only, devoid of background notes. For this recipe, everything except the citrus

(which gets added after two weeks) is combined with the grain spirit at the beginning.

As with everything culinary, it's important to constantly sample your efforts. If any

tweaking is necessary, you can add a little more of one thing or another to reach your

desired flavor balance. Wait a day or two before tasting again.

Finishing Up

After a month of storing and shaking daily has gone by, maceration is complete, and it's

time for the fun stuffdilution and filtering. Without performing these steps, all you

really have is a jar full of wonderful-smelling muck. The first thing to do is strain the jar

contents through cheesecloth. Set aside the macerated alcohol. But don't discard the

solids!

Put the solids in a 2 quart (or bigger) soup pot. Cover them with four cups of water and

bring to a boil to infuse the flavor of the ingredients into the water and burn off any

remaining alcohol. Let cool, then strain the infused water into a separate container.

The macerated alcohol that you strained needs to bebrought down in proofor else it

will taste and smell like Christmasy rocket fuel and all of your hard work will have been

for naught. To bring down the proof, you'll mix the two solutions (the macerate and the

infused water) together to produce a rough estimate of between 40%-45% alcohol by

volume, or ABV. If you're using Everclear, which is 190 proof (or 95% abv), you'll mix

your infused alcohol with your infused water at a roughly 1:1 ratio to bring the 95% abv


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macerate down to 44% ABV. You'll also add some muscovado simple syrup to the mix at

this point to sweeten it up.

After mixing, pour some of the bitters into a clear glass container and hold it up to the

light. At this point you have two choices. If you're happy with the clarity,congratulations, you've just made bitters! Slap on some vintage duds and get to slinging

tipples.

If you're OCD and start to sweat from all of the little particles floating around in your

prized creation, then you can filter the diluted mixture a final time, either by

passing it through a coffee filter or layers of cheesecloth, or the easier but sloppier

option of letting it sit for a day or two until physics takes care of the remaining solid

matter, after which you can either decant or use a turkey baster to skim the clear stuff

from the top. And voila, you're ready to start making cocktails!

Get the Recipe

Technique: Making BittersMixologist Adam Seger ofNacional 27 Chicago, ILAdapted by StarChefs.com

Bitters, in a nutshell, are a highly flavorful, highly concentrated mixture of a spirit and an aromaticingredient. They are medicinal in origin, produced around the world and, increasingly, in the bars ofcommitted mixologists. The path to complex bitters includes shaking, blending, seeking out esoteric

herbs, playing a bit of chemist, and a bit of mad scientist; the end result is a dark and pungentconcoction that adds deep, herbaceous notes to cocktails.

Mixologist Adam Seger built his first recipe from scraps of information found in books and on theinternet; information on basic recipes abound, but the more elaborate, aromatic, multi-facetedtechniques are closely guarded. Generous soul that he is, Seger shared his Bitters 27 recipe with us,because if youre crazy enough to surround yourself with bottles of infusions that you have to tend toevery day more power to you.

His 3rd batch of bitters is composed of 6 infusions, each featuring a different spirit and aromaticcomponent, to be infused for 2 weeks and shaken daily. The infusions are then combined (to taste),left to marry overnight, seasoned with wormwood, lavender, passionflower, and rosewood, andbottled. They are decidedly high maintenance but worth it, he says.

On the current Nacional 27menu, the bitters appear in the house mojito, in the Latin Manhattan(cigar-infused bourbon, bitters, and homemade maraschino cherries), in Pisco Sours, and in aChampagne-passion fruit-elderflower cocktail. Seger gets most of his aromatics from Merz Apothecaryin Chicago, known locally as the witchcraft shop. They sell their goods internationallyonwww.smallflower.com.

Seger infuses each herb separately then makes a micro-blend, mixing together a fraction of each untilhe reaches his desired result (as bitter as Angostura, but more aromatic and complex). Some of thebotanicals below are pricey, and high-grade spirits are thrown in the mix, so separate infusing and
http://www.smallflower.com/http://www.smallflower.com/http://www.smallflower.com/http://www.smallflower.com/


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slower mixing is best. Segers first batch had too much horehound and smelled like a hamster cage.He added Brazilian rosewood, and then it smelled like an aromatherapy parlor, not in a good way.That was an expensive experiment.

Step 1: Combine aromatics (roots, plants, herbs or fruits) with alcohol. A pre-made bitter mixture(like Maria Treben, used below) can serve as a base.

Step 2: Seal container and infuse, shaking daily, until desired intensity is reached.

Step 3: Combine infusions (if working with more than one), and balance flavor with herb extracts(Seger uses lavender, passionflower, wormwood and rosewood).

Step 4: Let marry overnight, then bottle.

Bitters 27, Batch #3Mixologist Adam Seger ofNacional 27 Chicago, ILAdapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Infusion 1:

184 grams Maria Treben Swedish Herb Mixture 13 ounces El Dorado 15 Year Demerara Rum 13 ounces Pyrat XO Reserve Anguilla Rum 13 ounces Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Year Limited Production Rum

Infusion 2: 13 ounces chopped fresh ginger 13 ounces Clment Creole Shrubb 13 ounces 10 Cane Virgin Press Rum

Infusion 3: 4 ounces angelica root 13 ounces Gran Centenario Plata 100% Agave Tequila

Infusion 4: 4 ounces calamus root 7 ounces El Dorado 15 Year Demerara Rum 7 ounces Pyrat XO Reserve Anguilla Rum 7 ounces Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Year Limited Production Rum

Infusion 5: 2 ounces horehound 2 ounces mugwort 24 ounces Broadbent 10 Year Malmsey Madeira

Infusion 6: 2 ounces cinnamon sticks 2 ounces cloves 2 ounces allspice liter Pernod

To Assemble: 1 ounce wormwood extract


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.5 ounces passionflower extract 2 ounces lavender essence 1 ounce Brazilian rosewood essence

Method:

For the Infusions:Place each of the above 6 infusions in sealed glass jars for a fortnight. Shake daily.

To Assemble:Strain each infusion through a fine mesh strainer, then through cheesecloth. Combine strainedinfusions go slowly and taste to make sure mixture is as desired. When combined, let stand one day,and then pour into a glass jar, leaving behind any sediment that may have accumulated. Addwormwood extract, passionflower extract, lavender extract, and rosewood essence. Let mixture marryovernight, and bottle.

Recipe: Homemade BittersinShareAPR 23 2010, 6:45 AM ET

For this recipe, you shouldn't use a vodka brand that you wouldn't drink straight. For the bitters blend, I

soak the ingredients for two days (you can taste the bitterness when its ready). For the aromatic blend, I

soak things for 10 days and then cook the ingredients for a few minutes in water, after removing them

from the alcohol. I then add them back to the alcohol and let the mixture sit for another five days to

squeeze out the last drops of flavor.

You can order the herbs and spices online atMountain Rose Herbs.

Basic Aromatic Blend

2 tablespoons dried orange peel

1 tablespoon dried lemon peel

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 tablespoon caraway powder

1 tablespoon anise seed powder

1 tablespoon cassia bark

25 ounces vodka

Macerate ingredients in the vodka for 10 days.

Remove ingredients from the vodka and cook them in five ounces of water for a few minutes. Then return

them to the vodka and allow to macerate for an additional five days before straining.

Basic Bitter Blend
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/


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1 tablespoon each of gentian root, dandelion, and quassia bark

tablespoon wormwood

1 cup of vodka or other high-proof spirit

Macerate the spices for 48 hours in the spirits.

Remove the solid ingredients, cook them in five ounces of water for a few minutes, and return them to the

blend and allow to sit for an additional 48 hours.

Final Step:

Blend the above infusions at preferred ratios, adding flavoring agents, caramel, water, and sugar as

desired. You can make flavoring agents by steeping fruits, spices, or other aromatics in alcohol or by

making a syrup, such as by cooking fruit with sugar and water.

Play Mad Scientist: Make Your OwnBittersinShareAPR 23 2010, 1:08 PM ET 1

izik/flickr

To try Derek's technique for making your own bitters at home, clickhere.

Hunting for bitters used to be a thankless task, and if you wanted something "exotic" like orange bitters

you were simply out of luck. However,as I've noted before, things have changed. I'm now delighted to find
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/10/04/play-mad-scientist-make-your-own-bitters/39386/#disqus_threadhttp://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/10/04/play-mad-scientist-make-your-own-bitters/39386/#disqus_threadhttp://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/10/04/play-mad-scientist-make-your-own-bitters/39386/#disqus_threadhttp://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/10/04/recipe-homemade-bitters/39387/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/10/04/recipe-homemade-bitters/39387/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/10/04/recipe-homemade-bitters/39387/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/04/to-the-bitter-end-a-bar-ingredient-returns/38673/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/04/to-the-bitter-end-a-bar-ingredient-returns/38673/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/04/to-the-bitter-end-a-bar-ingredient-returns/38673/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/04/to-the-bitter-end-a-bar-ingredient-returns/38673/http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/10/04/recipe-homemade-bitters/39387/http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/10/04/play-mad-scientist-make-your-own-bitters/39386/#disqus_thread


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bitters in my neighborhood liquor store. They carry Angostura, Peychaud's, and Regan's Orange No. 6

Bitters--a fine collection for any household, and ordering online fromKegworksor other reputable sources

can easily fill out your collection.

Here's the problem: what if you want a particular flavor or profile and you still can't find it? Well, dig in,

and I'll walk you through making your own. My recipe is constantly changing and I'm learning with eachbatch, so I welcome feedback from those of you who have tried this.

Firstly, I separate my base infusions into two categories: bitter and aromatic. The reason for the split is

that they require different steeping times and, when it comes to the final productdepending on the

flavoring agentI want to be able to increase or decrease each respective quality. These are also very basic

blends. You can add or subtract components according to your tastes, but I found that 12 to 14 ingredients

is sometimes redundant and unnecessary.

To create the bitter base I use the following ingredients (ground or chopped):

gentian root

quassia bark

wormwood

dandelion

For the aromatic base, I use the following (also ground or chopped):

dried Seville orange peel

dried lemon peel

coriander powder

caraway powder

aniseed powder

cassia bark (cinnamon)

Next, I allow both to soak in cheap vodka for differing periods of time. Make sure your vodka isn't

complete rotgut. In other words, you shouldn't use a vodka brand that you wouldn't drink straight.

For the bitter blend, I soak the ingredients for two days (you can taste the bitterness when its ready). For

the aromatic, I soak things for 10 days and then cook the ingredients for a few minutes in water after

removing them from the alcohol. I then add them back to the alcohol and let the mixture sit for another

five days. This is akin to squeezing out the last drops of flavor.
http://www.kegworks.com/home.php?cat=936http://www.kegworks.com/home.php?cat=936http://www.kegworks.com/home.php?cat=936


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wonderferret/flickr

Please note that the final infusions contain both aromatic and bitter elements. I just find it useful to

separate them for blending purposes. Other bartenders,such as Jamie Boudreau, may separate the blends

even further and, in fact, have done some very pioneering work in creating homemade bitters.

With the basic bitter and aromatic infusions in the works, I then create a flavor infusion. Try anything you

like: hibiscus, rhubarb, or blueberries, for instance. You can do this by soaking the ingredients in alcohol

for an extended period of time or by creating a syrup. For something like blueberries, I don't want them to

sit and steep for too long, which would make them become shriveled, pale versions of their fresh selves. So

I make syrup from the fresh blueberries with sugar and water and add it to the blended infusions. I might

also take some dried blueberries and steep them in the syrup for a touch longer to add depth of flavor. For

a heavy aromatic blend, like orange bitters, I use fresh and dried peels from both bitter and sweet oranges

and allow them to sit in alcohol for much longer.

The last step is to strain the mixtures and blend them by taste. You can add water and caramel (sugar

cooked with a little water in a pan) at this point in the proportions you want. For fig bitters I create a

heavier aromatic profile by adding the aromatic infusion to the bitter infusion at a two to one ration and

then use dried figs soaked in alcohol for the flavor. Lastly, I add additional water and sugar.

You can order the herbs and spices online atMountain Rose Herbs. Just remember, whenever I'm asked

what the most important ingredient for bitters is I answer, simply: patience. My full recipe is attached.

Good luck and please feel free to write your own recipe in the comments!
http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/

Documents

Cherry Bitters