Batch 02 - Orange Bourbon Bitters - 09/07/2020
Orange bitters is a staple for any bar. After Angostura bitters, it is probably the most widely used. I noticed I was running dangerously low, so I decided to make a batch. To make something a little different, I decided on Orange Bourbon Bitters and using spices that would help boost the orange flavor. Orange obviously had to be the star of the show.
I was able to pick up almost everything at my local grocery store, but I did have to search the web for a few items - Gentian Root and Wild Cherry Bark. Fortunately, Amazon took good care of me. Also, in California we aren’t able to get high proof liquor, so I had a family member bring me some 191 proof Everclear from out of state.
After gathering all the ingredients, and learning a few lessons from my rhubarb bitters experiment, I decided to split up my flavors by macerating the oranges, spices, and bitterants separately. This would help me control how much spice and bitter flavors were in the final product.
Orange Bourbon Bitters
Difficulty
Easy
Time
28 days
Ingredients
5 Navel Oranges
1/2 Tsp Fennel
1/2 Tsp Coriander
4 Cardamom Pods
1/2 Tsp Cloves
1 Star Anise
1/4 Tsp Gentian Root
1 Tsp Wild Cherry Bark
1.75 Cup 191 Proof Everclear
1.5 Cups Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof
Agave Syrup
Water
Combine
Orange Mixture
Wash and zest 5 oranges. Place the zest into a large airtight container and top off with 1.5 cups of our Everclear. Label the container with the ingredients and add the date.
Spice mixture
Combine the fennel, coriander, cardamom, cloves, and star anise into a small airtight jar. Cover with 1/2 cup of our remaining Everclear. Level the jar with the ingredients and add the date.
Bitters Mixture
Add the gentian root, wild cherry bark, and 1.5 cups of Old Grand-Dad to a 3rd airtight jar. Label the jar with the ingredients and add the date.
Steep
Store the containers in a cool dark place and shake daily. Every few days I gave each mixture a small taste by placing a few drops in a tiny amount of water so I could see how the flavors were melding. After 5 days I removed the star anise - this spice has a tendency to take over, and I only wanted a slight hint of it, so it was booted from the party.
Here is a video describing the steps above!
Combine
These mixtures macerated separately for 21 days. At that point I tasted each mixture to see if anything needed to continue steeping. I decided the spice and bitters were strong enough, so I strained those out and added them into the big container with the orange peels. This steeped for an additional week before Strained out the orange peels and moved on to the final steps.
Dilute and Bottle
To finish the bitters, we need to add in a sweetener and dilute the mixture to bring down the alcohol by volume (ABV). I like using agave as it adds a little flavor with the sweetness, but not a whole lot. I added 2oz of agave which ended up being sweet enough for me. The hard part was figuring out the water level.
I ran some calculations to figure out my current ABV, which was about 72%, and decided I wanted my final ABV to be between 44% and 50%. This meant I needed to add between 17.75oz and 12.25oz of water to my bitters. I didn’t want to ruin it, so I measured out 1oz of bitters and added a small amount of water, tasting as I went. I found the perfect spot where the taste was still strong, but the booze wasn’t punching me in the face, which was about .5oz. More calculations told me that equated to adding 14oz of water to my bitters. I added the water and it was right on!
Diluting with agave and water
I was a bit scared when my bitters turned cloudy, but after doing some research I found it was normal and would go away in time. So I bottled everything up and started enjoying the bitters with my friends and family.