A few years ago I wrote a piece on the Secret of Cola and the ingredients used to make cola flavoured beverages. Obviously, Coca-Cola is the king, but Pepsi isn’t doing too bad. The fact is cola flavoured products are tremendously popular, but very few people know what makes that flavour so unique. I’m not going to rehash that part; […]
Tag: recipe
Seamens Bitters
The preferred bitter of the sea-going captains or possibly just a name. This recipe is classified as a “strong bitter” and is in the same category as Angostura, Calisaya and Hop bitters. Seamens Bitters Recipe: Cardamom 3 oz Nutmeg 5 oz Coriander 8 oz Cinnamon ½ lb Cloves ½ lb Allspice ½ lb Caraway ½ lb Calissaya Bark 1 lb […]
Malta Knights’ Bitters
Presumably this is a bitter named after the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem founded around 1023 as the Knights Hospitaller and eventually just the Knights of Malta. In 1119 the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were formed, but when the Templars were disbanded in 1312 most of their assets went to the Hospitallers. After being […]
Nelson Bitters
Not much is known about this bitter recipe. Nelson Bitters Recipe: Bitter Orange Fruit 1 lb Calamus Root 2 lbs Zedoary Root 2 lbs Galanga Root 2 lbs Gentian Root 3 lbs Instructions Macerate the herbs and spices in To make the bitters, take 10 ounces of the stock essence and it to 4 gallons of 70% overproof spirit, plus […]
Malt Bitters
Malt was often thought to be the perfect and most digestible food in the 1800s, at least from a medicinal stand point. Malt bitters was often promoted as the perfect combination of medicine and a food. It was recommended for the weak, convalescent, dyspeptic and fickle. Even though malt is nutritious, in the following bitters recipe it simply adds some […]
Orange Bitters
A basic orange bitter recipe that is easy to produce. Orange Bitters Recipe: Sweet Orange Zest 120 g Lemon Zest 60 g Gentian 60 g Cascarilla 60 g Alcohol 25% 2 L Instructions Macerate the solids for 7 days with 64 ounces of the alcohol, agitating occasionally. Filter and bottle.
Stoughton Bitters
This was the bitter that started it all. Stoughton’s was first produced and sold around 1712 and was a mainstay of the medical community for many years. Over time, the formula was manipulated and some things 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 […]
Swiss Alpine Bitters
A type of “Alpine Bitters” similar to Swedish bitters. Swiss Alpine Bitters Recipe: Wild Cherry Bark 30 g Cinchona Bark 30 g Bitter Orange Peel 15 g Sweet Orange Peel 15 g Cardamom 7.5 g Caraway 7.5 g Cinnamon 3 g Cloves 3 g Nutmeg 3 g Alcohol, 75% 480 ml Instructions Nix the solids in a mortar and grind […]
Wild Cherry Bitters
A recipe for Wild Cherry Bitters Wild Cherry Bitters Recipe: Wild Cherry Bark 300 g Mitchella 75 g Juniper Berries 30 g Prickly Ash Bark 15 g Sugar 600 g Alcohol, 40% 3.5 L Instructions Reduce the solids to a coarse powder, extract with the dilute alcohol by maceration for 3 to 7 days. Add the remaining ingredients, mix and […]
Walnut Bitters
A recipe for Walnut Bitters. Walnut Bitters Recipe: Black Walnuts (green) ½ bushel Bitter Walnut Essence 5 gal Whisky 25 gal Water 5 gal Sugar 10 lbs Wormwood 2 lbs Whortleberry 2 lbs Nutmeg 10 each Cloves, whole 2 oz Red Pepper 10 pods Coriander Seed ¼ lb Orange Peel 12 peels Instructions Combine in a 35 gallon barrel and […]
How to Make Bitters
Bitters have been popular in Europe for hundreds of years, but in North America, they haven’t quite stayed as popular since the introduction of refined sugar. However, there seems to be a rekindled interest in bitter liqueurs and cocktail bitters. This could partially be caused by the Jagermeister shot phenomenon. Or, it could be that people just get bored and […]
Homemade Soda
Making soda from scratch is not as hard as you might think. Creating a flavourful soda syrup using a few simple techniques can open up a whole new world of culinary creativity.