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 bottle After 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

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 of Cherry 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 book and 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!

In Bloom Bitters
This 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 rum 2 sprigs fresh lavender 5 fresh rose petals 5 fresh sage leaves 1 1/2 tsp. gentian root powder Peel from 2 grapefruits (white pith removed) Peel of 1 lemon (white pith removed) 3 whole star anise Tools: 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 the solids with a slotted spoon, then filter the liquid through cheesecloth. Adjust the flavor by stirring in cup sugar or simple syrup and cup water to start, adding more to taste.NOTE: You may substitute dried herbs in place of the freshjust start tasting daily after two weeks, until desired strength is reached.

Choosing Ingredients for Krangostura Bitters

Aromatic bitters are big on holiday spices like clove, 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 that bright 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 of gentian (available as chips and twigs from Mountain Rose Herbs) andcinchona bark (available at Kalustyans and Herbs 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. Choose Everclear 190, Devil's Spring (160 proof), or Polmos Warszawa Spirytus Rektyfikowany (190 proof).

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 be brought down in proof or 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

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 Bitters Mixologist Adam Seger of Nacional 27 Chicago, IL Adapted by StarChefs.com Bitters, in a nutshell, are a highly flavorful, highly concentrated mixture of a spirit and an aromatic ingredient. They are medicinal in origin, produced around the world and, increasingly, in the bars of committed 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 pungent concoction that adds deep, herbaceous notes to cocktails. Mixologist Adam Seger built his first recipe from scraps of information found in books and on the internet; information on basic recipes abound, but the more elaborate, aromatic, multi-faceted techniques 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 to every day more power to you. His 3rd batch of bitters is composed of 6 infusions, each featuring a different spirit and aromatic component, 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, and bottled. They are decidedly high maintenance but worth it, he says. On the current Nacional 27 menu, the bitters appear in the house mojito, in the Latin Manhattan (cigar-infused bourbon, bitters, and homemade maraschino cherries), in Pisco Sours, and in a Champagne-passion fruit-elderflower cocktail. Seger gets most of his aromatics from Merz Apothecary in Chicago, known locally as the witchcraft shop. They sell their goods internationally on www.smallflower.com. Seger infuses each herb separately then makes a micro-blend, mixing together a fraction of each until he reaches his desired result (as bitter as Angostura, but more aromatic and complex). Some of the botanicals below are pricey, and high-grade spirits are thrown in the mix, so separate infusing and

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 #3

Mixologist Adam Seger of Nacional 27 Chicago, IL Adapted 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

.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 strained infusions 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. Add wormwood extract, passionflower extract, lavender extract, and rosewood essence. Let mixture marry overnight, and bottle.

Recipe: Homemade Bitters

inShareAPR 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 at Mountain 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

 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 Own Bitters

inShareAPR 23 2010, 1:08 PM ET 1

izik/flickr

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

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 fromKegworks or 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 each batch, 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 product depending 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.

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 at Mountain 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!