The calendar marches on with great force even though I’m continually urging it to slow down. Unfortunately my pleas go unnoticed but I assure you you still have time to gift your family, friends or yourself with homemade bitters.

Last week I taught a room full of eager students how to make bitters. We all hudled around a table cluttered with little jars of infusions and with droppers in hand, each descended on various ingredients to create a custom blend of herbs and spices for the purpose of elevating their cocktails. There was cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Citrus, in all its various shades, sat next to dried cherry and raisin. Wormwood and Orris root provided some bitterness while vanilla, coffee and cocoa nib rounded it out. They smelled and tasted, added a few more ingredients and tasted again until they thought it perfect. They tested their final concoction with a simple champagne cocktail in which a sugar cube is drenched in bitters – classically Angostura, but tonight their own – then topped with champagne.

So let’s get right down to it because like I said, there’s not much time.

A bitters is essentially an alcoholic liquid flavored with different herb, spice and dried fruit infusions. Bitters are used in cocktail making as a way of creating a lovely, subtle additional layer of flavor. I once heard them described as “the salt of the cocktail” which I think helps to understand their value in a great cocktail.

The first step in making bitters at home is to make a variety of infusions. I like to make the infusions separately as opposed to mixing all the ingredients in one container of vodka (use a high-proof and odorless alcohol – I used a 100 proof vodka) because different ingredients take longer or shorter to infuse with the alcohol. Plus, I like feeling like a chemist and having a the fun of making dozens of different types of bitters. This is great for making gifts for the holidays or would make a great activity for a cocktail party.

So gather a variety of herbs, spices, dried fruit, etc. Most ingredients can be found at the grocery store – particularly in the bulk section. Some of the more exotic roots I ordered from a company called Mountain Rose Herbs. The roots are used to give the bitters – as the name suggests – a bitter taste. Dried citrus peel also adds bitterness so if you are wanting this for the holiday and don’t have time to order the roots, or simply don’t want to deal with it, just be sure to infuse some dried citrus peel so you’ll have that bitter component.

Add about a teaspoon of your ingredient to 4 ounces of vodka. If you are pressed for time you can add more of the spice or herb to speed up the process although this will taste different than a longer infusion would.

Cover the infusion tightly and set aside.

Knowing when the infusion is ready is really a job for your nose. You’ll notice a color change in the vodka almost immediately. As the days move on continually open the container and smell your infusion. When fully infused the vodka will smell strongly of the herb or spice and will taste heavily of that ingredient. For herbs and spices this will take about 7-10 days. If you are using dried fruit expect to let it sit for 2-3 weeks.

Once the infusions taste as you want them too you are ready to make bitters. Simply strain out the infused ingredients using a clean fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Replace the strained infusions back into their jars and begin mixing. Make sure everything you use in this process is very clean and sterilized.

Fill ⅓ of a small dropper bottle with distilled water. Using a pipet choose a selection of several infusions. If you want your bitters to be heavy in one infusion then add a whole pipet or two (roughly 1 tablespoon). The lesser flavors you want should only be added by a few drops.

I think it works best if you have a certain type of alcohol or cocktail in mind when creating the bitters. For example, my first adventure into bittering (pretty sure that’s not a word but it quite possibly should be) I had pear brandy on my mind so I created a bitters that was heavy in cinnamon, rosemary, nutmeg and juniper. There were other ingredients in there as well, as most bitters have somewhere between 10 – 30 different ingredients, but they were less pronounced.

And since we are making an accessory for cocktails I thought I’d also share with you a cocktail that needs some accessorizing.

Happy Bittering!

Champagne Cocktail
from the Metropolitan Hotel, New York City circa 1935

1 cube sugar
bitters (classically Angostura)
chilled champagne

Soak sugar cube with a couple of good splashes of bitters and set in the bottom of a large champagne flute.

Fill slowly with sparkling wine.

Garnish with a lemon twist.

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Check out these other great resources on making your own bitters:

Adventures in Cooking: DIY Bitters

Bitters and Twisted

Food and Wine: How to Make Bitters

Reclaiming Provencial: Homemade Bitters

And if you find yourself with time in Portland take a class from Mark Bitterman at The Meadow – seriously.

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A complete list the infusions I made:

Cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, coriander, cardamom, coffee, cocoa nib, vanilla, wormwood, orris root, qassia bark, ginger, juniper, allspice, red chile, black pepper, celery seed, dried orange peel, dried lemon peel, dried lime peel, raisin, dried cherry,

And a few supplies:

Pipettes 3ml, Gradulated, Pack of 100

Amber Glass Bottle 4oz W/glass Dropper

Ball Quilted Jelly Canning Jar 4 Oz., Case of 12

Homemade Bitters

The first step in making bitters at home is to make a variety of infusions. I like to make the infusions separately as opposed to mixing all the ingredients in one container of vodka (use a high-proof and odorless alcohol - I used a 100 proof vodka) because different ingredients take longer or shorter to infuse with the alcohol. Plus, I like feeling like a chemist and having a the fun of making dozens of different types of bitters. This is great for making gifts for the holidays or would make a great activity for a cocktail party.

So gather a variety of herbs, spices, dried fruit, etc. Most ingredients can be found at the grocery store - particularly in the bulk section. Some of the more exotic roots I ordered from a company called Mountain Rose Herbs. The roots are used to give the bitters - as the name suggests - a bitter taste. Dried citrus peel also adds bitterness so if you are wanting this for the holiday and don't have time to order the roots, or simply don't want to deal with it, just be sure to infuse some dried citrus peel so you'll have that bitter component.

Add about a teaspoon of your ingredient to 4 ounces of vodka. If you are pressed for time you can add more of the spice or herb to speed up the process although this will taste different than a longer infusion would.

Cover the infusion tightly and set aside.

Knowing when the infusion is ready is really a job for your nose. You’ll notice a color change in the vodka almost immediately. As the days move on continually open the container and smell your infusion. When fully infused the vodka will smell strongly of the herb or spice and will taste heavily of that ingredient. For herbs and spices this will take about 7-10 days. If you are using dried fruit expect to let it sit for 2-3 weeks.

Once the infusions taste as you want them too you are ready to make bitters. Simply strain out the infused ingredients using a clean fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Replace the strained infusions back into their jars and begin mixing. Make sure everything you use in this process is very clean and sterilized.

Fill ⅓ of a small dropper bottle with distilled water. Using a pipet choose a selection of several infusions. If you want your bitters to be heavy in one infusion then add a whole pipet or two (roughly 1 tablespoon). The lesser flavors you want should only be added by a few drops.

I think it works best if you have a certain type of alcohol or cocktail in mind when creating the bitters. For example, my first adventure into bittering (pretty sure that's not a word but it quite possibly should be) I had pear brandy on my mind so I created a bitters that was heavy in cinnamon, rosemary, nutmeg and juniper. There were other ingredients in there as well, as most bitters have somewhere between 10 - 30 different ingredients, but they were less pronounced.

And since we are making an accessory for cocktails I thought I'd also share with you a cocktail that needs some accessorizing.

Happy Bittering!

I have one last suggestion for you to complete your Thanksgiving meal. And I do believe it’s a good one, dare I say I saved the best for last?

It’s time we talk about your Thanksgiving cocktail. Now there are a couple ways you can go about this: If your family is like mine Thanksgiving beverages are nearly as traditional as the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes – red wine with my family, while sparkling cider is the drink of choice with Gabe’s family. With the meal drinks set this could be the cocktail that greets your guests as they pluck a few baby carrots off the vegetable platter or (and this is my favorite idea) this is the cocktail you enjoy while sliding the turkey into the oven. It’s the cocktail you sip in between stirrings of the mashed potatoes or tastes of the gravy. It’s what you are drinking as you set the last fork and stand back to marvel the scene. This is the cook’s cocktail.

Cider punch is the ideal cocktail for the busy cook as there are only two ingredients plus a couple flourishes if you so desire (and I do). While the turkey roasts and the potatoes boil pour an ounce or two of rum into a glass. Top that with apple cider (I like one part rum to four parts apple cider). You could have it over ice or warm the cider – the choice is left to the cook. Top with a touch a of cinnamon and nutmeg. If you happen to have some bitters a few drops really makes the cook quite happy, especially if your bitters, like mine are heady with cinnamon and rosemary and little wisps of clove, cardamom and orange.

If you don’t have bitters and are interested in making your own I just so happen to be teaching at class in Seattle, December 6. We will be making an assortment of gifts from the kitchen including homemade bitters. In fact today I made nearly 20 different infusions for class. (Pretty slick how I just slid that class plug right in there, huh? Sorry, I really do not like that sort of thing but I promised I would and I’m quite excited about this class.

If you aren’t in Seattle I’m thinking I just may put a post up here about the process so you won’t miss out on all the fun. I don’t claim to be a bitters expert but I do claim to be pretty darn excited to have a collection of my own bitters and I’m even more excited to be teaching you all how make your own.

Cheers and happy cooking!

*This simple cocktail was inspired by something I drank at Skillet Diner. Go there. Really.

Cider Punch

Cider punch is the ideal cocktail for the busy cook as there are only two ingredients plus a couple flourishes if you so desire (and I do). While the turkey roasts and the potatoes boil pour an ounce or two of rum into a glass. Top that with apple cider (I like one part rum to four parts apple cider). You could have it over ice or warm the cider - the choice is left to the cook. Top with a touch a of cinnamon and nutmeg. If you happen to have some bitters a few drops really makes the cook quite happy, especially if your bitters, like mine are heady with cinnamon and rosemary and little wisps of clove, cardamom and orange.