Make Your Own Strawberry Bitters

I suddenly decided a couple of weeks ago for no real reason that we needed strawberry cocktail bitters. I'm sure such a thing exists commercially, but I haven't seen it, so I decided to make my own. It's really easy to make your own bitters - the most labor intensive part is sourcing the ingredients - but it takes a couple of weeks to get a finished product, so it's not something you want to leave until cocktail time. If you start now you'll be replete with bitters for holiday gatherings!

Strawberry Cocktail Bitters

2 cups sliced strawberries

1 1/2 cups overproof rum (I used Cockspur 130 proof)

1/2 cup chopped ginger

1 1/2 tsp gentian root

3 tsp whole cloves

4 1/2 tsp cardamom pods

4 1/2 whole star anise

5 sticks cinnamon

1 cup high quality strawberry liqueur

Combine all ingredients except the strawberry liqueur in an airtight container. Shake daily for two weeks. I removed the strawberries after one week.

Two weeks later: strain mixture and boil solids with one cup of water for 30 minutes. Be sure to keep the fluid, since you’ll be adding to it.

You might need to add a little water occasionally to keep the fluid level up while boiling. Cool, strain and add new fluid to existing fluid.

Add one cup of high quality strawberry liqueur, shake and you’ve got strawberry bitters! It may not look like much, but you only use a few drops at a time, so a little goes a long way. Cheers!