Theme Image

Bitter Infused Vodka

This recipe is inspired by Angostura bitters- the popular flavoring agent that was developed by a German immigrant living in the Caribbean. It is a popular ingredient in several cocktails and is very popular in Europe as an aperitif. The bitter compounds in the drink stimulate the digestive system, especially the gall bladder. These bitters are known for supporting the digestive system. There are many different herbs that are "bitter" and I encourage you to experiment with individual flavors according to your palate. I recently made a batch in preparation for the winter. An occasional "shot" is guaranteed to shake things up a bit...in more ways than one! My appreciation of irony likes the thought of adding milk thistle to vodka!

You will need:

The scientific approach to making this is to extract each herb individually according to the correct alcohol/water mixture. However, for the sake of simplicity, here is a short-cut that will suffice:

  1. Open bottle of vodka and remove one cup to make space for the herbs
  2. Add the herbs to the vodka using a funnel
  3. Replace the lid
  4. Shake thoroughly for 1 minute
  5. Allow to steep for at least 2 weeks- shake on a daily basis
  6. After 2 weeks, you will notice that the vodka has changed color; Strain the herbs from the liquid and discard them
  7. Return the liquid to the bottle
  8. Cocktail time! Replace in any recipe using Angustora bitters, or create your own