HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BITTERS
So, as of today, I want to be like Antoine. And, no, nothing rhymes with Antoine or Peychaud, so this doesn’t have the same catchy Jordan slogan characteristic - get over it. Man, I sound like some sort of bitter old man; I guess that’s the point. This is a post about bitters after all.
I have long thought of bitters as the salt and pepper of cocktails. While a proportionally small additive to any cocktail, bitters serve the vital role of balancing drink elements and heightening the complexity of cocktails. Ten years ago finding any bitters aside from the traditional Angostura brand was virtually impossible.
Today, the bitters market has exploded with everything from Regan’s Orange Bitters to the soon to be released Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters. These are all great options for the cocktail enthusiast, but if you really want to go crazy, you have to start making your own bitters. The are plenty of articles available online, many from other bloggers, describing how to make your own bitters, but there really isn’t a source of possible basic bitters ingredients.
Sure, you can find a recipe calling for Fringe Tree Bark, but what the heck is that anyway, For the record, apparently, it is a type of tree that grows in the Eastern US that when in bloom has beautiful white flowers. Let’s chop it down and put it in some bitters with a bunch of other stuff. All bitters start with a spirit base. When selecting liquor for this bitters project, we wanted to use liquors that are easy to obtain, come at a low price point, and have a high proof.
The high proof is the most important part of the liquor selection, as it allows for a longer shelf life and may extract more flavor during the infusion process. Due to the fact that you will never use more than a few drops of the bitters in a cocktail you shouldn’t worry about the high proof throwing of the balance of a drink. Everclear: This pure grain favorite of frat boys all across the country is perfect for this bitters project.
It weighs in at a sensory overloading 190 proof, it doesn’t bring any flavors with it so it will work well with the ingredients we want to stand out. Wild Turkey Rye: This might seem like an unlikely choice, with a lower proof, but we really wanted to use the spiciness of a rye in combination with some of the earthy and bitter components we had at our disposable.
The choice to use the Turkey was easy; it is our go-to rye at the bar. Texas doesn’t have the greatest of rye selections, so we are left with a very small amount of options. A few months back we had a very informal, drunken rye tasting and the turkey came up on top; plus, you can’t beat the price point.
This is where the list can get a little ridiculous, and it did. We put this list together based off of recipes we found online, and things we thought would just be fun to try. One void we found with many bitters recipes is that while some give good how to advice, none really explain what it is they are using and why.
We by no means think this list is all inclusive, as no list should be. But, we think you could use this post as future resource for when you decide to make your own. Wormwood: With the recent return of Absinthe to American shores, it seems as if everyone has heard of this herb. Wormwood is a tall woody plant that grows well in dry sunny conditions.
