SSJ Chocolate Bitters

It’s finally time to tackle homemade bitters! I’ve come up with a Chocolate Bitters recipe made from ingredients I was able to source from local health food stores and from Herb Depot on Dundas Street in Toronto. Bitters-making is a relatively easy task! And the results are small but mighty! Use these SSJ Chocolate Bitters to add another level of flavour to a classic Manhattan, a Chocolate Martini or an Old Fashioned. Then start to play by inventing your own cocktail! You will want to grab some small dark bottles, preferably with dropper-tops, in which to decant your bitters to give as gifts and to equip your own bar!

Print Recipe

SSJ Chocolate Bitters

Makes approximately 235 ml

Ingredients

• 1 ⅔ c [375 ml] Bourbon [Grab the highest proof you can. I used Maker's Mark.]
• 1 ⅓ c cacao nibs
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 tbsp cassia bark or 1 cinnamon stick [Use a generous tbsp of the bark, here]
• 6 cardamom pods, very gently bashed
• 1 tbsp gentian root
• 1 tsp wild cherry bark
• ½ tsp wormwood [OPTIONAL: Use ¼ tsp or omit altogether if you do not like anise flavour]

Instructions

ONE-STAGE METHOD

• Pour the bourbon into a large mason jar and then add all the other ingredients.
• Seal the jar, shake it, and allow it to sit for at least two weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking the jar daily.
• After two weeks, taste the bitters daily to see when they reach a desirable flavour profile.
• Use a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and placed over a wide-mouth funnel to strain the bitters into a clean jar.
• Clean the strainer, replace with a second/clean piece of cheesecloth, and place the strainer over a narrow mouthed funnel, decanting the bitters into small amber glasses, preferably with dropper lids.
• Seal well and store in a cool, dark place.

TWO-STAGE METHOD

• Pour the bourbon into a large mason jar and then add the cacao nibs and vanilla bean.
• Seal the jar, shake it, and rest it in a cool dark place for one week, shaking daily.
• After the first week, add the cassia bark [or cinnamon stick], cardamom, gentian, wild cherry bark, and wormwood.
• Seal the jar, shake it, and rest it at room temperature for one more week, shaking daily.
• After a total of two weeks, taste the bitters daily to see when they reach a desirable flavour profile.
• Use a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and placed over a wide mouth funnel to strain the bitters into a clean jar.
• Clean the strainer, replace with a second/clean piece of cheesecloth, and place the strainer over a narrow mouthed funnel, decanting the bitters into small amber glasses, preferably with dropper lids.
• Seal well and store in a cool, dark place.

Notes