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I started this thread for any thing and everything about bitters. It is a chance to share something that we are constantly working on and purhaps we could do some trading to use each other's bitters from each of our establishments in order to create a buzz about each other and the guild.
I have a connection on barrels that are hand crafted in Bulgaria and being shipped here buy a friend who does some home distilling. I have ordered 3 of the 3 gal (smallest) size for use in bitter aging or tinktures, shrubs ect. the price is $150 each for these barrels.
David & I have spoken on this subject several times. I would love to see an idea already in practice in SF, sharing each other's bitters & citing the source. It has the real sense of cross-collaboration I think we're all looking for. & then if some of us want to get together & actually make a batch of something or other that would then became an actual OBG product. I'm currently working on an oak-aged blood orange shrub for Teardrop, but I'd love to sort of work through an idea together. I think we could do this w/o too many egos getting in the way??
To be honest, I've been looking for a local cooper to supply me with some 1/4 barrels so that I can do a Rye Whiskey soon. Lets see what plays out on our collective search for some barrels. I'd be interested in a Bulgarian barrel, but, the wife hasn't been too delighted with the recent amounts of money that I've been dropping on everything liquor related.
That said, I need to start a new batch or two of bitters. I just finished a tomato/grapefruit from the summer after forgetting it was in my basement. I've been thinking about a coconut bitters for some tiki drinks, and maybe also recreating Bokers one of these days.
Something just occured to me. Steve McCarthy uses old JD barrels for his McCarthy's Whisky. I wonder what he does with the old barrels. If we got a full barrel, I wouldn't be opposed to creating an OBG barrel aged bitters.
I recently ordered some small barrels from http://www.1000oaksbarrel.com/
Decent quality, barrels come with a medium char.
I'm currently curing a 2L barrel with some Demerara rum, and will be setting up an aged Falernum and aged Falernum bitters soon.
Speaking of bitters, I was reading Paul Clarke's blog this morning and came across a new product that will be going on the market by summertime.
Sounds like pretty interesting stuff. Maybe they'd be interested in my bacon bitters recipe.
For the record, I've invited Avery from Bittermens to join our forums. I thought it would be good to get his perspective on our projects, as well as see what they will be doing in the future.
Blair was nice enough to get me 2 of the barrels for Christmas, as he mentioned above.
I have an Orange Curacao aging now in glass that I'm hankering to get in one of the barrels, but the other is up for use and Bitters sounds like a hell of an Idea.
being southern and all I'm gonna call my bitters "White Ryley". For my mom's Norfolk Terrier( she has more pictures of that dog than she does of her grandkids). Gonna be white truffles and Horehound aged in Oregon Oak. Thinking about using the the sugar cane rum I mentioned in the contest roll to finish the product. I love it's earthy tone. Who knows maybe it will cure smokers cough any suggestions?
Only one suggestion- Add bacon
Do you think that the horehound might overpower the white truffle? Also, Oregon truffles are quite a bit cheaper, you might want to try those for your initial batch.
have you ever steaped horehound like tea? I did so today, it is quite lite on the pallet but has a great subitle noes. It kind of clears the pathwys like a fragrant cleanser.
edit for gramer and spelling cause I'm drunk and stupid
No I haven't. I'll have to try steeping it.
Btw, since it seems Lance did not yet mention it (that's right, talking to you), we have barrels coming from FH Steinbart next week. They are not Oregon oak, but rather Missouri; I hope we can all live with that for our first assay. I should also point out that Dave's stealing my truffles idea (sure, I was kidding at first, but now I'm obsessed), so we're going to have 2 OBG truffle bitters from the start.
Oh yeah, & I hope Senor Ellestad starts posting in this thread, since he was supposed to be doing a line of bitters this year, all based on indiginous California herbs.
woot! there is no stealing in "open forum" I cant wait to compair the two. That is the fun of it all.
I was thinking of aging Eric's Thai chili Tinkture for a few months just to see. I know that this would season the barrel nicely. I guess I need to get a second barrel for spiced product.
Hey everyone check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl3SFk8Awis the love of my life. She will be five soon and old enough for piano lessons.
Shameless plug for your daughter in a cocktail forum.
I'd be wary of doing a thai chile in oak, not for the sake of the chili but the oak. You'll never be able to use it for aught else but the tincture. & you'll never use 1 gallon of it in a million years.
I don't think that girl is old enough to be in here.
Before anyone claims it, I'm doing Boker's bitters and barrel-aging them.
David, does she take requests? A rendition of lonely goatherd would be nice.
Aged Barbados bitters (A falernum tincture not mixed with simple) will be going into the barrel tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I couldn't get any from steinbarts, and I'd like to know if anyone has a lead on good bitters bottles with the cap, as on Angostura.
I love the Bokers idea, but make sure you avoid using tonka beans if you want to be able to use it for anything but personal use.
I too am doing a truffle bitters so that we have a whole range of comparison. I'm thinking of doing a white truffle and caviar bitters and calling it "Poorhouse Bitters" since that where I'll be after paying for the ingredients.
I'm actually toying with doing a barrel aged coconut bitters to be honest.
Oh, oops!
Uh, yeah, the California Herbs experiment. I haven't quite figured out what to do with it.
It is a blend of infusions made from Meyer Lemon zest (Citrus × meyeri), Citrus Scented Marigold leaves (Tagetes nelsonii), Tangerine Scented Marigold Flowers (Tagetes lemonii), California Sagebrush (Artemisia califonica), Wild fennel flowers and leaves (Foeniculum vulgare), California Bay leaves (Umbellularia californica), Island Black Sage leaves (Salvia brandegii), and some spent walnut husks from my walnut liqueur.
Mostly stuff I have grown in my backyard or community garden.
I don't really know what it is, but it really isn't as bitter as I had hoped. I think I could sweeten it and end up with a few bottles of an herbal liqueur similar to Strega.
I also think it might make an interesting flavoring essence for something similar to a Vermouth.
~Erik
I haven't seen tonka beans called for in any of the Boker's recipes I've seen out there. But if I had, I'd probably use some sort of vanilla to avoid the "intestinal burning" associated with tonka beans.
As for you, Blair, I don't know what to suggest. I have a case of empty Angostura and Fee Bros. bottles that I've been collecting over the past year. Get a job bartending, you can have all the free empty bottles you want. I call it my "perks plan".
Huh, I could have sworn there were tonka beans in the Bokes recipe. Old age I guess.
The chemical composition that Kevin Verspoor (perfumekev) did on Boker's identified that it contained Tonka Bean.
The recipe that he postulated and then John Deragon tested was as follows:
The analysis that PerfumeKev did was for Abbot's bitters. I've been looking at some research [.doc] that Robert Hess did, along with a recipe that Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh came up with, based on (I believe) this research:
3/4 ounce quassia chipsHopefully my two cases of Rittenhouse Rye will show up when it's time to do this.
1/2 ounce cardamom seeds
1 ounce dried orange peel
3 pieces star anise
3 cloves
3/4 ounce black catechu
1 small piece ginger root, bruised
1/2 ounce whole dried malva flowers
1 750-ml bottle Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey, 101 proof
2 pints water
Crap, you're right. Sorry.
Erik,
I think that we both were looking at the same thing as that was what had me convinced that Bokers had tonka bean. :) Here we are, debating the ingredients in defunct bar bitters. I love it.
Other than limbo on SE 29th, does anyone have local resources for herbal supplies?
Teach me to post between meetings at work.
Oh, by the way, Jeffrey, The bitter truth guys did get as far as making a prototype Boker's Bitters.
Yes, really Boker's, this time, not Abbott's.
I don't know if lack of time or interest prevented them from continuing to develop it as a product.
You might drop a note to Stephan Berg and ask what sort of recipes or method they used.
Generally folks, including Stephan, say Boker's Bitters are pretty similar to the Hungarian Unicum bitters still produced today by Zwack.
I hear Penzey's spices in Milwaukie is the best around. There also seems to be a herb shop across the street from the Screen Door. Whats that, maybe E Burnside and 21st? I haven't had time to check it out yet.
I've been to the herb shop across from Screen Door (tasty, tasty breakfast). They have a decent selection, and last time I went I was able to get some chicory root and quassia chips, but no cinchona to be found.
Steinbart's also has a great herbal selection, including wormwood and sarsaparilla, but it's all freeze fried.
Penzey's has a great selection, but it's very cooking centric, not a lot of bitter or medicinal herbs and whatnot. They've got a mean cinnamon section though, and juniper berries.
I'll have to check out the one across from screen door. Been to Steinbarts, and I started my evangelical preaching of the joys of Penzey's to all who'd listen two years ago - I love them so.
Don't forget Penzey's has 3 kinds of Cardomum, the hip new flavor of 2008.
Green (your usual)
White (lighter, sweeter)
Black (smoky, peaty, pungent)
There is always the Interweb I suppose.
I've had good luck ordering direct from Frontier Herbs, who have a fine selection of odd things, including Gum Arabic and Red Clover. This is where most co-ops that sell bulk organic herbs get their stuff.
If you're going to drink or eat the stuff, make sure it's organic or food grade, not, you know, potpourri herbs. And also that you know exactly what species you are getting.
For example, the Japanese type of Star Anise, often sold for decorative, incense or potpourri use, is actually quite toxic and looks and smells exactly like the food safe Star Anise from China.
From wikipedia:
"Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), a similar tree [to Star Anise, Illicium verum- eje], is not edible because it is highly toxic; instead, it has been burned as incense in Japan. Cases of illness, including "serious neurological effects, such as seizures", reported after using star anise tea may be a result of using this species. Japanese star anise contains anisatin, which causes severe inflammation of the kidneys, urinary tract and digestive organs."
Second that!
& boy, do I regret having thrown the truffles thing out in public before making it. Well, I'm not spending that kind of money, Lance, but yours sounds like it would be good w/ some creme fraiche on toast points.
Alright, I started a batch of saffron bitters last night. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it straight saffron or maybe add some lemon peel for depth yet. Whether or not I barrel age it will just depend on the flavor that I'm getting, my mood, and when we take delivery of the barrels.
I'm also interested in how things go with the infusion to see just how hard it would be to recreate the Sub Rose Saffron vodka. I know he basically has a curry infusion although he labels it Saffron, I really want to avoid any curried notes in this bitters though.
As for saffron bitters, I should let you know I started a batch of them yesterday, no joke. Actually, it's a variation on my buddy Neyah White's Sunshine bitters, which are:
1/2 oz. cardamom pods/ 1 C vodka / 1 tbl. saffron threads
I've just started the saffron threads a-steeping for a couple days, don't know what direction I'm going to take them when that's done. I want to stay light on any additional ingredients, keeping the saffron front & center. So I'd love to keep chatting about this.
I told you cardamom's hot right now.
The new american oak barrels are here! The new american oak barrels are here! (Now I'm somebody?)
I'm gonna pick these babies up from Steinbart's Thursday in the a.m., drop 'em off at the homestead (teardrop's not got much storage), & bring them in when I hear from folks to tell me you're coming by to pick up.
Looking forward to it. I guess it's time for me to start stockpiling Wild Turkey!
Those Sunshine Bitters sound awesome. I need to obtain some saffron.
We're pruning our roses right now and I started thinking about doing a rose hip bitters. Any thoughts?
Neat. Do you think it would come out tart from the vitamin c? And are you considering any blend with petals?
I ran across this photo of chopped bitter melon, in salt. (The food blog it is at is a favorite read of mine. Inspirational, but rarely what I'd try at home.) I'm thinking maybe, even as a reference point, playing with a tincture of bitter melon.
My bitters is now a Blood Orange/Saffron Bitters
How are everyone's bitters coming along?
I visited the TCM herbalist last weekend and put together a good store of ingredients (including dried bitter melon). But I'm waiting on an order of glass jars before improving vodka with things that one might make gin from. (Not waiting to torture prepositional phrases or waterboarding my liver, though.)
Jeff, I'm sorry I didn't think to send along the barrel to the event Sunday w/ David. & it doesn't sound as though you'll make it this week. Let me know when you want to pick it up. I don't think it's worth the shipping charges again; or are you in a rush?
My druthers would be to have the barrel-aged Boker's ready by our next event, but considering my workload I'm hoping to be done in time for Tales.