DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavor

Make your own bitters at home to enhance your medicine cabinet, and your bar.

Used since the Middle Ages, bitters are made by combining various plant botanicals and/or spices with 100-proof alcohol and letting them sit until the bitter and medicinal qualities have been extracted. Just a small amount of the resulting liquid can then be used to stimulate the digestive system and promote healthy digestion. This is why apertifs and digestifs are so popular--both then and now!

DIY Bitters is a how-to guide that explores the history and health benefits of bitters, and shows you how to make your own bitters at home, to be used alone or in cocktails, tonics, and even main meals.

Herbalists Jovial King and Guido Mase, owners of the bitters company Urban Moonshine, teach you how to make recipes that range from Classic Digestive Bitters and Angostura Bitters to more innovative bitters like Cacao After-Dinner Mints and Kava-Ginger Pastilles.You can even find a guide for creating your own unique flavors from the plants and ingredients you have on hand. Some of the other recipes include:

• Angelica Elixir
• Bitter Ginger Syrup
• Hazelnut Hearth Bitters
• Rose Bitter Pastilles
• Chamomile Bitters
• Allergy Bitters
• Immune Bitters
• Nerve Bitters
• Sleep Bitters

You'll also find profiles for an array of plant ingredients, from Agrimony to Yellow Dock, with all the details necessary to craft a formula that is truly a work of art. Listed alphabetically by common name, each species description covers history and lore, flavor profile, chemistry and extraction, and medicinal activity.

Whether enjoyed as an apertif, digestif, or as a remedy to settle an upset stomach, bitters are back!