Stoughton Bitters

This was the bitter that started it all. Stoughton's was first poduced and sold around 1712 and was a mainstay of the medical community for many years. Over time the formula was manipulated and somethings added and others removed, but wormwood was the most important. Eventually there were so many poorly made Stoughton's bitters knockoffs that the term "as useless as a Stoughton's bottle" entered the lexicon in the mid 1800s.

Stoughton Bitters Recipe:

Wormwood: 3 oz

Bitter Orange Peel: 3 oz

Gentian: 3 oz

Rhubarb: 1 oz

Cascarilla: 2 tbsp

Aloes, socotrine: 2 tbsp

Dilute Alcohol 20%: 4 litre

Instructions

Reduce the solids to a powder and extract with the alcohol by maceration over a period days, agitating occasionally. Filter and bottle.

Notes:

Also called Stoughton's Elixir or Compound Tincture of Wormwood.

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