A key ingredient to an Old Fashioned is bitters (photo: Megan Cole)
By Megan Cole
‘Tis the season and all that nonsense, but all that nonsense means an excuse to enjoy a great cocktail. I’ll admit that for many years my idea of a cocktail was anything overly sweet that came in a martini glass, and generally was over-sweet and too strong. After a bit of research, both of the learning and the drinking kind, I have come to realize a great cocktail is a complex thing. And, like with food, it’s all about great ingredients.
If you’ve spent any time looking into the world of classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned, my personal favourite, you’ll notice one of the key ingredients is bitters. Bitters, believe it or not, was first thought of as medicinal. It had that characteristically bitter flavour to teach people that bitter meant medicine, not food, similar to the way a Tylenol tastes horrible if you bite down on it. Bitters was mixed with alcohol and sugar to kill the bitter flavour. It has gone from supposed cure-all of its time, to essential tool for any bartender, and the cool thing is there are so many more options than the traditional Angostura bitters. The best part is, bitters is easy to make on your own.
Bittering agents and flavourings ready for vodka (photo: Megan Cole)
What you need:
A bittering agent, such as burdock root, sarsaparilla root, licorice root, etc.
Flavourings: I decided on orange, cardamon, coffee, and chocolate (cocoa nib)
Alcohol (I used Absolute Vodka)
To start, you basically mix the three parts together in a jar and let the flavours come together. I let mine sit for about four days before straining them. Like with any project of this nature, labelling is super important. It’s key to knowing what the heck is in the jars and when you started the whole process because, if you’re like me, who also has kombucha, sauerkraut, mustard, and an indoor garden on the go, you might forget when you started making bitters.
Now, some people combine their ingredients together to generate their blends, while other people keep them separate. This is how I did it, because sometimes I want more chocolate, or sometimes I want only coffee.
Bitters-soaked raw sugar cube ready for an Old Fashioned (photo: Megan Cole)
After I finished my bitters, it was time to put it to the test in an Old Fashioned, using my new cocktail shaker, muddler and jigger from The Mason Shaker. I decided to mix together a few dashes of my 32 Lakes Roasters Mexico Sierra Azul with some of my cocoa nib bitters. The end result was delicious, with a creamy chocolate flavour. I have also done the cardamon and orange, which might be my favourite.
If you’re looking for other flavours, you can use all sorts of stuff, including herbs, flowers, fresh or dried citrus peel, or dried fruits. And don’t be limited to just using your homemade bitters in a drink, as Anna Hunt from Victoria Spirits, who have their own line of bitters, suggests, it’s also great as an extract in baking.
Before I send you off to create new bitters flavours, I need to say one thing: if you’re spending all that time making great custom bitters, don’t cheap out on the other stuff. Make great ice, and buy the good booze. I only use Bulleit Bourbon in my Old Fashioneds, and that’s pretty much the gold standard.
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