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With little effort you can create your own version with ingredients uniquely tailored to your taste.
By
Marcia Simmons
Marcia Simmons
Contributor
Marcia Simmons is the author of DIY co*cktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks (2010).
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Updated August 24, 2023
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In This Recipe
What's Available to Buy?
Why DIY?
Use It!
Why It Works
- One recipe can make enough bitters to last years and is worth the effort and cost.
- You can customize the flavorings to your own palate.
Asking me to pick my favorite co*cktail is sort of like asking parents which of their kids is the best. It's a hard question to answer, but deep in my heart, I know. Sorry, Sazerac and Martini, even though I love you so, theManhattanis easily my favorite drink. So I was surprised that a simple change to this classic drink made me love it even more.
Swapping in cherry bitters for Angostura bitters gives a Manhattan a subtle yet delightful boost, adding a hint of fruit while still delivering the bitterness that the recipe needs. You, too, can harness the power of cherry bitters to improve your favorite co*cktail—or even coax a so-so drink into realizing its full potential.
What's Available to Buy?
Cherry bitters aren't as ubiquitous as Angostura, Peychaud's, or orange bitters. Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters are the ones I usually see at places like BevMo, but other than that it's either a specialty store or special order situation. Woodford Reserve makes a spiced cherry bitters that I've heard is (not surprisingly) perfect in Manhattans. I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, but I've heard good things about it. Lots of small-batch producers offer cherry bitters—Miracle Mile Sour Cherry bitters and AB Smeby's Cherry Vanilla bitters are two of my favorites. But not every corner store has those, and they're not cheap.
Why DIY?
Since you only use a dash or two of bitters at a time, a little bottle lasts forever. So if you make a small effort to steep some herbs, bark, and fruit, you'll get a homemade, tailored-to-your-taste ingredient that could grace your home bar for years.
Handmade bitters are often worth the hefty price tag, but you can make quality bitters at home and have fun doing it. Also, even the most artisanal of artisans doesn't know whatyoulike as much as you do. Maybe you love a hint of cinnamon or a touch of chamomile in your co*cktail. I can't get enough anise, but you could be more of a clove person. With a little experimentation, you can create cherry bitters as unique as your palate.
Use It!
Homemade cherry bitters really liven up aManhattan, but that's not the only co*cktail you can use them in. Try them anywhere you'd use Angostura: in well-known drinks like aBrooklyn,Old Fashioned,Champagne co*cktail, orRob Roy.
You can also try them in unique recipes like Milk & Honey'sDutchessor Beloved'sThe Henry. Or you can try a cherry twist on a drink many bartenders swear by: Soda water with a few dashes of bitters.
January 2013
Recipe Details
DIY Cherry Bitters Recipe
Prep15 mins
Active10 mins
Infusing Time504 hrs
Total504 hrs 15 mins
Serves360 servings
Makes1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cherries or3/4 cup dried cherries
1 cup 151-proof neutral grain spirit, divided
1 whole star anise, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon lemongrass, cut in small pieces
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 teaspoon gentian root
1 teaspoon quassiachips
1 cup rye whiskey
Directions
Put the cherries in a sealable glass jar with 1/2 cup of the neutral grain spirit. Be sure this jar is large enough to later hold an additional 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Shake. This is your cherry flavoring.
Put the anise, fennel, lemongrass, vanilla, and cardamom in a different sealable glass jar with remaining 1/2 cup of the 151 neutral grain spirit. Shake. This is your spice mix.
Put the gentian root and quassia chips in a sealable glass jar with the rye. Shake. This is your bittering mix. Set all jars aside in a dark place at room temperature.
After 10 days, strain the spice mix and bittering mix through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the solids. Strain again through coffee filter into the cherry flavoring jar. Do not remove cherries. Shake. You now have one jar that contains the strained spice mix and bittering mix along with steeping cherries and alcohol. Let this steep for an additional 11 days.
Strain out cherries through a fine-mesh sieve, and then strain the rest through coffee filter into your desired container. Store at room temperature for up to one year.
Special Equipment
3 mason jars, fine-mesh sieve, coffee filters
Notes
Gentian root and quassia chips can usually be found at specialty herb stores. You can also order them from Lhasa Karnak.
I used Everclear 151 for my neutral spirits base. If you cannot find this in your area, you can substitute the highest proof vodka available to you.
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- Cherry
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 4 | Calories |
| 0g | Fat |
| 0g | Carbs |
| 0g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
×
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 360 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 4 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 0mg | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate 0g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
| Total Sugars 0g | |
| Protein 0g | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 0mg | 0% |
| Iron 0mg | 0% |
| Potassium 0mg | 0% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
