Handcrafted Bitters and Cocktails
Winter Cocktail Season
It’s 2020. There’s really no better way to survive this weird holiday season than with handcrafted bitters and cocktails. Something spicy and cozy to keep you warm (and sane). There is something special about handcrafting a cocktail, from the sound of the pour, to the swish of the spoon and the stirring of ice in a beautiful rocks glass.
If you haven’t already, you should join the Homestead Holiday Challenge to learn how to make your holiday season healthy and handcrafted.
What are bitters?
Bitters are essentially a very concentrated spirit full of aromatics such as spices, barks, seeds, fruits, or herbs. Basically, bitters make your cocktail special. A cocktail will only call for a few splashes, as they pack quite a punch.
Bitters started out as medicinal tinctures said to cure many common ailments. Then people realized that they could make the harsh and hard to swallow liquor at the time more palatable.
Why make handcrafted bitters?
First of all, a variety of bitters can be hard to find. Where I live, you can pretty much only find basic aromatic bitters in the store. If you make your own, you can infuse them with any type of spice or herb you prefer.
Not only are most store-bought bitters kind of boring, but they contain a lot of red dye (Eww! Read more about why that’s not a good idea here. Better safe than sorry).
We are challenging ourselves to start making pretty much everything from scratch, so why not handcrafted bitters and cocktails? At least in my house, adult beverages are part of the diet.
When infusing fruit peels into bitters, buy organic. You don’t want to ingest pesticides. Wash well.
Handcrafted Cocktail Gear
Okay, so you can do this in any type of cocktail or rocks glass that you want. It really doesn’t matter. Our favorite set is from Libbey because it’s heavy, pretty, and dishwasher safe.
We saw these glasses at one of our favorite watering holes in downtown Honolulu, Smith & Kings, and we had to order some for ourselves. We ended up getting the rocks glasses and bar spoon to match.
Now that we have our gear ready, let’s make some drinks!
Drink 1: Grapefruit Bitters + Negroni
I’ll be honest. I set out to make blood orange bitters. Did you know that blood oranges are impossible to find right now in lower Alabama? Yeah, me neither. They aren’t available yet. This just goes to show you that I have a lot to learn about eating seasonally. If you are reading this in the late winter (end of December through February), swap the grapefruit for blood orange. It seems sexier than grapefruit. Either way, this citrus and spice tincture will give you all of the warm and cozy winter feels.
Grapefruit Bitters Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped grapefruit peel (dried preferred- bake peels as low as your oven can go for 45 min, then chop)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 (1 inch) piece ginger peeled and julienned
- 1/2 tsp cinchona bark
- 1 cup high proof rye whiskey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
Cinchona? What’s that?
I had never heard of cinchona bark before. After a little research, I realized it is actually in a lot of bitter recipes (for more recipes, check out the book Handcrafted Bitters by Doug Dalton). It is bark from a tree that can be used as an ailment for digestive issues. Here, we are using it purely for its citrus and bitter flavor from the quinine in the bark. In store-bought versions, the quinine is usually synthetic.
Grapefruit Bitters Recipe
1. Combine dried grapefruit peel, cinnamon stick, ginger, cinchona bark, and rye whiskey in glass jar. Shake.
2. Place in a dark area and let sit for 2 weeks, shake daily.
3. Strain with cheesecloth or mesh strainer into a fresh container. Set this container aside.
4. Transfer the rest of the chunky stuff to a saucepan and cover with water.
5. Boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Let cool to room temperature, put in another clean jar and shake.
7. Place in a dark area and let sit for 1 week, shake daily.
8. Strain the jar with the chunky stuff into new jar and add in original mixture.
9. Add blackstrap molasses and shake.
10. Let sit for 3 days and strain anything that floats to top.
11. Transfer to a new bottle (preferably dark glass) and enjoy!
Making the Grapefruit Negroni Cocktail
- 1 1/2 oz Campari
- 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
- 1 1/2 oz gin
- 3 dashes homemade grapefruit bitters
- 1/2 grapefruit wheel for garnish
Add Campari, vermouth, gin, and bitters in that order to rocks glass over ice. Stir, garnish, and enjoy!
Drink 2: Orange Bitters + Old Fashioned
Regular orange bitters are very versatile and can be used in many cocktails. A dash of orange bitters can elevate almost any drink, from martinis to manhattans to margaritas. We decided to create a traditional staple, the old fashioned. Feel free to cozy it up with a cinnamon stick or even cherries.
Orange Bitters Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped orange peel (dried preferred)
- 3 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 (1inch) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
- 1/2 tsp cinchona bark
- 1 cup high proof vodka
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp rich syrup (2 cup sugar to 1 cup water, simmered and cooled)
Orange Bitters Recipe
1. Combine dried orange peel, cardamom, ginger, cinchona bark, and vodka in a glass jar with lid. Shake.
2. Place in a dark area for 2 weeks and shake daily.
3. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth or fine strainer into another jar.
4. Cover the remaining chunky stuff with water and bring to a boil, then simmer with lid for 10 minutes.
5. Let cool to room temperature, transfer back to a separate jar, seal and shake.
6. Place in dark area for 1 week and shake daily.
7. Strain chunky mixture again into clean jar and add original liquid mixture.
8. Combine with rich syrup and shake.
9. Wait three days and clarify anything that floats to the top.
10. Transfer to a jar (dark preferred) and enjoy!
Making the Orange Old Fashioned Cocktail
- 1/2 tsp sugar (or sugar cube)
- 3 dashes of homemade orange bitters
- Splash of club soda
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- Orange peel or wedge for garnish
Add sugar, club soda, rye whiskey, and bitters to your favorite glass. Stir, garnish, and enjoy!
If you make any of these handcrafted bitters and cocktails, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram: brittany.l.gibson using #thehomesteadchallenge
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Grapefruit Bitters
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped grapefruit peel (dried preferred)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 (1 inch) piece ginger peeled and julienned
- 1/2 tsp cinchona bark
- 1 cup high proof rye whiskey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
Instructions
- Combine dried grapefruit peel, cinnamon stick, ginger, cinchona bark, and rye whiskey in glass jar. Shake.
- Place in a dark area and let sit for 2 weeks, shake daily.
- Strain with cheesecloth or mesh strainer into a fresh container. Set this container aside.
- Transfer the rest of the chunky stuff to a saucepan and cover with water.
- Boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature, put in another clean jar and shake.
- Place in a dark area and let sit for 1 week, shake daily.
- Strain the jar with the chunky stuff into new jar and add in original mixture.
- Add blackstrap molasses and shake.
- Let sit for 3 days and strain anything that floats to top.
- Transfer to a new bottle (preferably dark glass) and enjoy!
Notes
You can substitute grapefruit for blood orange.
Grapefruit Negroni
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Campari
- 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
- 1 1/2 oz gin
- 3 dashes homemade grapefruit bitters
- 1/2 grapefruit wheel for garnish
Instructions
- 1. Fill 1/2 cocktail glass with ice
- 2. Add Campari, vermouth, gin, and bitters.
- 3. Stir with cocktail spoon, garnish, and enjoy!
Orange Bitters
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped orange peel (dried preferred)
- 3 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 (1inch) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
- 1/2 tsp cinchona bark
- 1 cup high proof vodka
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp rich syrup (2 cup sugar to 1 cup water, simmered)
Instructions
- 1. Combine dried orange peel, cardamom, ginger, cinchona bark, and vodka in a glass jar with lid. Shake.
- 2. Place in a dark area for 2 weeks and shake daily.
- 3. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth or fine strainer into another jar.
- 4. Cover the remaining chunky stuff with water and bring to a boil, then simmer with lid for 10 minutes.
- 5. Let cool to room temperature, transfer back to a separate jar, seal and shake.
- 6. Place in dark area for 1 week and shake daily.
- 7. Strain chunky mixture again into clean jar and add original liquid mixture.
- 8. Combine with rich syrup and shake.
- 9. Wait three days and clarify anything that floats to the top.
- 10. Transfer to a jar (dark preferred) and enjoy!
Orange Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp sugar (or sugar cube)
- 3 dashes of homemade orange bitters
- Splash of club soda
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- Orange peel or wedge for garnish
Instructions
1. Directly to cocktail glass, add sugar, bitters, club soda, and rye whiskey.
2. Stir with cocktail spoon.
3. Add garnish and enjoy!
These sound divine! Def need a cocktail this holiday season. I’m going to try the Grapefruit Negroni, I like gin. Cheers!
Cheers, friend!!
I LOVED this post. I’ve always been fascinated with bitters and all the cool stuff that goes into a craft cocktail. I’m also missing old fashioned’s. I can’t wait to make a couple of these at home!!
It was honestly so fun to make and it was something my husband REALLY enjoyed doing with me! Let me know if you try any out!
This is a great post! I emailed it to my brother who loves making cocktails at the holidays. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the share <3