There really is nothing more intriguing to me than a perfect balance of interesting flavors in a cocktail glass. The alchemy of creating craft cocktails from scratch is probably best left to those with some real training and experience, but you can come pretty dang close to a craft cocktail experience at home by using homemade bitters in even a simple and classic cocktail.
The process of making bitters is actually incredibly simple, albeit time-consuming. Your patience will be rewarded when you taste the explosion of fresh flavors you get out of using them in your favorite spirits.
I typically do batches of bitters every 4-6 months. Its really no different, from a time perspective, to make one flavor as it is to make two or three. From start to finish, it takes around 5 or 6 weeks for them to finish steeping. If you time it right, you’ll always have a couple of bottles of fresh new flavors in your bar cabinet. To take it to the next level, you should be thinking ahead about seasonal cocktails and create some flavors that pair nicely with the cocktail flavors of summer, or autumn, or…well, you get the picture.
Ok, let’s get down to business! After I show you how to make your own bitters, I guarantee you’ll wish you’d done it sooner. It is truly one of the easiest ways to create a high-brow bar experience at home.
The Hardware
As easy as it is, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper supplies on hand. They’re easy to find, but not necessarily something we all have in our kitchens.
Buy The Supplies
- 16oz Glass jars with a tight-fitting lid (save those pickle jars)
- Metal or glass bowls for straining
- Mesh strainers – I think it works best to have a couple of different sizes to make sure you get as much of the residue out of your bitters as possible
- Cheese cloth
- Storage bottles – Glass is best, even better if it has a stopper or dasher so you can control the dosage of bitters when you use it. If you want to be all fancy (as of course I do) you can find some amazing decorative bitters bottles that will add a bespoke decorative element to your bar.
The Process
As I said, this is easy-peasy all the way. One of the hardest parts is actually deciding on the flavors you want to pair together. I typically use this 1, 2, 3 formula when deciding what flavors to put into each batch:
- 1 Part- Something mellow
- 2 Parts – Something sour
- 3 Parts – Something herbal
- Bonus: A Part or Two of Something spicy
The actual ratios depend a bit on what your ingredients are. A good rule of thumb is to use the same amount as you’d expect to use in an actual recipe. If you wouldn’t put a pound of pepper in a dish, you don’t want to put that much in your bitters either. The exception is the herbal ingredients; you need to use a large proportion of herbs and/or spices to make sure you get the strong kick of flavor you expect from bitters.
For this post, I’m making two different flavors. The first is a personal favorite: Lemon (sour), Lavender (herbal), & Honey (mellow), which is amazing in everything from gin cocktails to a classic Old Fashioned. For the second, I’m doing something that will pair wonderfully with light and fresh cocktails in the summer: Bacon (mellow), Basil (herbal), Blackberry (sour), & Black Pepper (spicy).
1 Wash and prepare all ingredients and your steeping jars. You’ll want to make sure you properly clean any produce, as pesticides or other nasties will affect the flavor of the finished bitters. If you’re using an ingredient like bacon, cook thoroughly and remove as much of the fat as possible. I literally cook it until it is almost blackened, just under the point where you would decide you couldn’t eat it. Keep in mind that everything you put in this jar will affect the flavor of the finished product. You don’t want anything in there, like wax from produce or fat from bacon, that you wouldn’t want to taste in your cocktail.
If you’re reusing jars, make sure there is no odor or flavor left in them, as it can transfer itself into your bitters. A cycle through the dishwasher usually does it, or use a vinegar soaking solution (1 part vinegar to 2 parts water) for 30 minutes and wash thoroughly.
2 Fill jars with ingredients. Make sure any larger pieces of fruit or anything else is chopped small enough that it can be shaken and combined inside the jar easily. No need to precisely measure the amounts of ingredients, just eyeball the 1, 2, 3 proportions.
1 Part Honey, 2 Parts Lemon, 3 Parts Dried Lavendar 
1 Part Bacon, 2 Parts Blackberries, 3 Parts Basil, 1 Part Multicolored Peppercorns
3 Top with high-proof liquor. I’ve experimented with different liquors, and while you can see some benefit in certain recipes using bourbon or other heavier flavors, I’ve found that an inexpensive, high-proof vodka is the best choice. It works best at extracting flavors, meaning you actually get the experience of your ingredients, not whatever liquor you’re using. I don’t see any need to use a top or even middle shelf vodka either; you will never use enough bitters in any recipe where you will notice the difference.
You may want to come back in about 1 week and top off your jars with more vodka once the ingredients settle. Especially with big herbaceous ingredients, like this basil, you need to make sure you leave room to shake it thoroughly.
4 Close lids tightly, and shake thoroughly to combine all ingredients. Store in a cool dark place.
5 Repeat the thorough shaking every day or two for 4-6 weeks, until the contents of the jar start looking like so much unappetizing sludge. Do not open the jars until you’re ready to strain! There’s some alchemy going on in there that is best left to its own devices.
When your jars start to look like they’re housing leftover sludge instead of recognizable ingredients, they’re done steeping.
6 Strain out the solids using the strainer over your glass bowl or measuring cup. Discard these, they’ve done everything they’re going to do and you’ll get no more goodness out of them.
7 Strain the liquid through 4 layers of cheese cloth layered over the strainer. Repeat, adding another 4 layers of cheese cloth every time, until no more residue is left in the liquid. At this point, your liquid should not be cloudy, and should resemble the color and consistency of a liqueur. If you’re using bacon, it will remain a little cloudier, as those meaty compounds are heavier than your more basic herbs and spices.
8 Bottle and enjoy. I like to use the flavor notes from the bitters to inform my cocktail recipes. Don’t hesitate to use a generous hand when adding to your favorite cocktails, you want those bespoke notes to come through the finished drink, after all.
That’s it. The time you spend waiting is very worth it. I’d love to hear from you if you try it, and what your combinations were. A few others I’ve made and loved include:
- Black Cherry, Vanilla, and Sage in bourbon (amazing in wintery cocktails)
- Fig, Grapefruit, Rosemary, and Cinnamon
- Orange Peel, Ghost Pepper, Honey, and Mango (super spicy, but so worth the burn)
- Lemon, Vanilla, and Sea Salt
- Lime, Watermelon, Basil, and Black Pepper
If you’re interested in cocktail recipes using some of these, head on over and check out some of mine. And, of course, let me know about yours! Cheers!
XOXO,
