This past week, we finished the final phase of our attempt at making bitters by taking what we ended up with at the end of last phase, letting it sit for a week and straining it through cheesecloth one final time before bottling and labeling them. I’ve got to say, I think they taste pretty damn good! They may lack a bit of the intensity of some other bitters and require a few more drops than I’m used to, but we’re both really happy with how they turned out.
We didn’t make much, but we did make more than we will be able to use, so we thought it might be nice to give away a bottle or two to people that would enjoy them as much as we do. Names and flavor profiles are:
Autumn Spice Bitters
Heavy on the bourbon, clove and cinnamon, there’s
some coriander, cardamom and apple in there as well.
Shoofly Bitters
Blackstrap molasses, cinnamon and garam masala
with a hint of rum and fruit.
Leave a comment with how you’d try mixing them up, and we’ll pick a couple we like and send them a bottle to take for a test drive.
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- US only please.
- Contest open until 9am [est] on Tuesday, November 15th
(thanks to @JackieBakesCake for the photo!)
First I’d try them in Manhattans, just to get a baseline. The Autumn Spice would find its way into a cider cocktail as well as the smoky maple cocktail I’ve been playing with. The Shoofly–ooh, it sounds so exciting. I’d like to try that in something a little creamy with vanilla notes–is that madness?
Those Autumn Spice jawns sound like they’d go great with a little AppleJack, aged rum (Brugal?), and Snap for a great fall drink.
With the Shoefly Bitters, I see garam masala and I go straight for curry – Green Chartreuse, for sure. That with some mezcal and St. Germain would lead into a pretty cool-sounding Venial Sin variant.
Shoofly bitters with some Saint Cider from Crispin (trappist yeast and maple syrup added) some Snap and a bit of my barrel aged Laird’s Applejack.
The Autumn Spice bitters sound like they would be lovely in an Old Fashioned! I’d like to make a punchbowl version with clove-studded oranges floating in it for a party.
Shoofly Bitters may be a nice addition to a Dark and Stormy! There is also a tiki-like drink that we are still perfecting at home that may benefit from the Shoofly Bitters: so far it contains dark rum, gin, lime, basil and coconut milk.
In a manhattan.
Why mess with greatness?
Honestly both of those sound like they are just calling to be paired with some Snap in some way.
I would use the autumn spice in a dry manhattan, subbing apple jack for the bourbon.
Autumn spice would be used in a tasting of Manhattans and Old fashioneds. I’d mostly use local bourbons and whiskeys. Particularly interested in trying it with Leopold Brothers New York Apple Whiskey (which is sweet and phenomenal on its own).
Shoofly would be used around the holidays. I’d incorporate it into the Autumn Glow punch that we make (recipe here: http://wegottaeat.com/elaine.wencil/recipes/autumn-glow-punch) and want to try to make a rum manhattan with it. It could also be a fun complement to a dark & stormy. And for some inexplicable reason, I really, really want to try it in oatmeal with coconut sugar. I think I’d muddle the sugar with the bitters to mix into the bowl.
Even a small bottle of bitters goes a long way, so I’d be able to try everything that came to mind. And then some.
Also: Fantastic photo, Jen.
Unrelated: If it’s not to much of a pain, I want a “tweet this” button to make sharing your posts easier. 🙂
I have been playing around with spruce beer from Montreal in cocktails – it is not too sweet, and herbal and wintry. I’d love to try some with the shoofly bitters and gin.
The Autumn Spice has Boulevardier written all over it. I think it would really enhance cocktail’s autumnal flavors. I think it would also be great in creating a variation on the Americano which I like to serve as an aperitif before holiday meals. The cocktail’s bitter blood orange flavor with sweet vermouth would rise into a seasonal display of flavors.
With the Shoofly I’m thinking a warm, wintry punch. A German-style mulled wine fortified with some brandy comes to mind or a hot apple cider punch with aged rum and allspice.
one word: WASSAIL.
I think I’d try to hang on to summer/fall as long as possible and make a stone fruit tea with a good bourbon. Hints and spices of Fall in the refreshing vehicle of summer a tall collins glass of savoy tea.
Yeah, thats sounds about right.
Cheers,
Todd