The short answer: to make bitters, steep orange zest, dried orange peel, whole spices and ½ teaspoon gentian root in 480 ml high-proof vodka for 2 weeks. Strain, simmer the solids in 240 ml water for 10 minutes and steep that for 1 week. Combine both liquids, add 2 tablespoons rich syrup, rest 3 days and bottle. It makes about 600 ml of orange bitters for cocktails.
Cocktail bitters are a very concentrated, very bitter flavouring used by the dash. A bartender adds 2 dashes to an Old Fashioned the way a cook adds salt. Learning how to make bitters is learning one trick: pair a bitter root with aromatics, then pull out both the alcohol-soluble and the water-soluble flavours. The recipe below is orange bitters, adapted from the bartender and author Brad Thomas Parsons.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 45 minutes over 3 weeks |
| Wait | 2 weeks, then 1 week, then 3 days |
| Makes | About 600 ml |
| Use | 1 to 3 dashes per drink |
| Keeps | Indefinitely, best within a year |
Ingredients
- Zest of 3 oranges, cut into strips, no white pith
- 4 tablespoons chopped dried orange peel
- 4 cloves
- 8 green cardamom pods, cracked
- ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼ teaspoon allspice berries
- ½ teaspoon gentian root
- 480 ml high-proof vodka, 50% alcohol or more
- 240 ml water
- 2 tablespoons rich syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water)
- A 1 litre glass jar, a small pan, a fine sieve and coffee filters
- Small dropper or dasher bottles
Gentian root is the bitter backbone of most commercial bitters. Buy it dried and cut from a spice shop or herb shop. A little goes a long way: ½ teaspoon is enough for this whole batch.
The spirit: high-proof vodka extracts more of the oils and resins from spices and peel than ordinary 40% vodka, and it keeps the finished bitters stable.
How to make bitters
- Steep in alcohol. Put the fresh zest, dried peel, spices and gentian in the jar. Pour in the vodka; add a little more if the solids are not covered. Close the jar and shake it daily for 2 weeks, away from sunlight.
- Strain. Pour the liquid through a sieve into a clean jar and set it aside. Keep the solids.
- Simmer the solids. Put the solids in a pan with the water, bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Steep in water. Let the pan cool completely, then pour the solids and water into a clean jar. Shake it daily for 1 week.
- Combine. Strain out and discard the solids. Pour this liquid into the alcohol you set aside.
- Sweeten. Stir in the rich syrup until it dissolves. It rounds the edges; it does not make the bitters sweet.
- Rest and filter. Leave it for 3 days. Skim anything floating, then strain it through a coffee filter.
- Bottle. Pour it into small labelled bottles. Shake before use if it looks cloudy.
Why two steeps
Alcohol pulls out the oils and resins: the bright orange, the cardamom, the clove. Water pulls out other flavours from the same solids, the ones alcohol leaves behind. Simmering the spent solids and adding that water back gives bitters a fuller, rounder taste than a single alcohol steep.
Build your own bitters
Every bitters recipe is one bittering agent plus aromatics.
| Style | Aromatics to swap in | Good in |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | Orange zest, dried peel, cardamom, coriander | Old Fashioned, Martini, Negroni |
| Aromatic | Cinnamon, clove, allspice, a vanilla pod | Old Fashioned, Manhattan |
| Coffee and cacao | Coarse coffee beans, cacao nibs | Espresso drinks, rum drinks |
| Citrus and herb | Lemon zest, grapefruit zest, rosemary | Gin and tonic, soda water |
Keep the gentian at about ½ teaspoon per 480 ml of spirit and change only the aromatics. Write down what you used: a good batch is easy to lose.
How to use bitters
- Old Fashioned: 2 dashes over a sugar cube, then 60 ml bourbon or rye, ice and an orange peel.
- Martini: 1 dash of orange bitters with the gin and vermouth.
- Soda water: 3 to 4 dashes in a tall glass of sparkling water with ice and a slice of orange.
- In the kitchen: a dash or two in whipped cream, chocolate sauce or a fruit salad.
A dash is one short shake from a dasher bottle, under 1 ml.
Bitters, extracts and the Herb Lab
Bitters are a close cousin of the extracts bakers make: plant flavour pulled into alcohol. Our guide to homemade extracts covers six, and orange extract uses the same zest technique as these bitters.
The NOIDS Herb Lab can reduce a finished extract to a thick concentrate with its Evaporation function, which stops by itself at 102 °C. Do not do that with bitters: they are used by the dash and rely on their alcohol to keep.
For the rich syrup, see our simple syrup ratios.
How long bitters keep
- Closed, at room temperature: indefinitely. High-proof alcohol keeps them stable.
- Best flavour: within a year. The citrus fades first.
- Light and heat: keep the bottles in a cupboard, away from the stove and the window.
Questions
What alcohol is best for making bitters?
High-proof vodka, 50% alcohol or more. It extracts more from peel and spices and keeps the bitters stable. Overproof rum or bourbon works for darker styles.
What makes bitters bitter?
A bittering agent, most often gentian root. Everything else in the jar is there for aroma.
How long do homemade bitters last?
Indefinitely, closed at room temperature. The flavour is best within a year.
How long does it take to make bitters?
About 3 weeks: 2 weeks in alcohol, 1 week in water, then 3 days of rest.
Can I make bitters without gentian root?
You get a tincture, not bitters. Without a bittering agent it tastes of spice and orange but not bitter.
How much bitters do I use in a cocktail?
1 to 3 dashes. In an Old Fashioned, 2 dashes is the classic amount.
