Homemade co*cktail Bitters Recipe for Drinks & Desserts (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in bitters drink? ›

Bitters are a neutral alcohol infused with spices, herbs, fruits, roots, and other ingredients. Common ingredients include cinchona bark, gentian root, cascarilla, orange peel, and others. Most bitters are 35 to 45% ABV (alcohol by volume), so they have a relatively high alcohol content.

Making your own bitters for co*cktails, as we've detailed above, isn't too dissimilar from brewing tea. By steeping aromatics and flavoring agents in vodka, the alcohol extracts the flavors and creates a delicious mix-in for any drink. See the key steps below.

| Do Bitters Expire? On average, bitters last around 5 years. However, there's no need to refrigerate bitters. Even though there are organic compounds in bitters, the amount of alcohol acts as a natural sterilizer and preservation agent.

Liver health benefits

Bitters give the liver a boost by aiding in the elimination of toxins and detoxification, coordinating the metabolism of sugar and fats, and helping release gallbladder-supporting hormones like cholecystokinin (CCK).

Angostura is an aromatic bitters, but lean heavily toward cloves and dried cherries. I crafted our Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters (the name kind of says it all) to be what I thought were the perfect bitters for an Old Fashioned. Ours lean more on cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg with only a touch of cloves.

In 1870, Siegert's three sons migrated to Trinidad and established the bitters as an essential ingredient in co*cktails and food. With four bitters variations: Aromatic Bitters, Orange Bitters, Cocoa Bitters, and Amaro Di Angostura, Angostura is a staple for bartenders and professional and home cooks.

No matter what kind of recipe you're concocting, all bitters should be created with high-proof liquor. This means liquor that is 50% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 100 proof. Vodka or grain alcohols, like Everclear, tend to work the best.

Bitters are herbal tinctures that originated in the apothecaries of old-world Europe. They are specific barks, roots, and herbs that have been infused in alcohol, and then used in dashes or drops to enhance flavor in drinks and food as well as for their health benefits.

However, consuming bitters when you don't have digestive issues may actually lead to digestive problems. This includes acid reflux, nausea and an upset stomach. So digestive bitters shouldn't be casually added to your daily routine if you don't need any relief from digestive distress.

What happens to your body when you drink bitters? ›

Digestive bitters, specifically, are said to help digestion because of their bitter taste. They stimulate your bitter taste buds, which signal different activities in your digestive system to start, like making more saliva.

co*cktail bitters are more concentrated than digestive bitters and have extraordinarily strong flavors. Subsequently, bartenders add co*cktail bitters in small amounts to their drink recipes and never serve them to customers straight.

They're rarely served straight because the flavors are much more intense than digestifs. Some of the best co*cktail bitters available are Angostura, Regans' Orange, Peychaud's, Bittermens, and The Bitter Truth.

Rye whiskey is known for its strength and spiced notes. That's why it lends beautifully to an Old Fashioned. From the whiskeys in this list, we'd recommend Bare Knuckle Straight Wheat Whiskey and Old Hamer Straight Rye. But there are countless other rye options to explore.

If you prefer to be more heavy-handed on the bitters, I won't get mad at you). Try making an Old Fashioned without bitters though, and you just have a glass of whiskey with some sugar in it (who wants that?) It's a small ingredient in terms of proportion but bitters essentially make an Old Fashioned, an Old Fashioned.

Bitters give your drinks complexity and depth of flavor. Bitters are a required ingredient for many popular co*cktails. Just like digestive bitters, co*cktail bitters are wonderful for the stomach and can aid with digestion.

Each bottle of bitters has 4g of sugar, not much really considering each bottle has 15-20 servings depending on how heavy handed you are. So that's a ¼g or less of sugar per drink.

Just because you're "not supposed to" drink bitters straight doesn't mean you can't. It might not taste great, but it'll get the job done.

Bitters are technically alcoholic, and they're usually between 35% to 45% ABV. Because they're sold in such small bottles and their flavor is so strong, most recipes call for just a dash or a few drops, making its overall alcohol contribution negligible, and why you don't need to be 21 or older to buy them.