Here’s how to make your own homemade Christmas Bitters the perfect way to add all those amazing festive flavours to your cocktails and drinks this holiday season.
Here is another quick and easy recipe to add to your Christmas goodie bags or hamper baskets this year – my homemade Christmas Bitters, the perfect way to add a dash and a splash of something special to any cocktail!
What are bitters?
Bitters go back thousands of years right back to ancient Egyptian times.
It is the bringing together of bitter herbs and spices and infusing them in alcohol to be used as a restorative and basic cure-all.
Since such time bitters have changed little over the years and been used for medicinal purposes mostly in Europe.
Then later as tasty additives to cocktails and other drinks rather as one might season food with salt and pepper.
Ingredients for Christmas bitters
I have brought together a really festive blend of aromatics;
oranges, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, fennel seeds, star anise, vanilla, black peppercorns and coriander seeds.
Throw in the essential booze element of vodka and you have the perfect combination for Christmas Bitters.
How to make Christmas bitters
You will just want to peel of the oranges. So either go for the unwaxed variety or scrub fruit well in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly and pat dry before peeling off the skin and avoiding the bitter white pith.
Now you need to dry this orange peel as well as the ginger in a very low oven (120C/250F) for about 45 minutes.
Having completed that little task it is merely a case of bashing your spices about a bit and then tossing all ingredients into a nice big jar.
Topping up with the vodka and letting nature do her bit for the next two weeks while you give the jar a jolly good shake now and then.
Hard work? Hardly!
Once all the goodness and flavour has been sucked into the vodka it is time for you to strain your Christmas bitters through either a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin or two sheets of kitchen paper.
This is so that no solids whatsoever get into the finished product and the drink is as clear as possible.
Pour the resulting Christmas Bitters into little sterilised bottles and label.
How long do bitters keep?
These Christmas bitters will keep for up to a year.
How to serve bitters
Serve a few drops of your Christmas Bitters in a G&T.
Or why not add to champagne or a martini.
Christmas bitters are perfect for adding to all sorts of other cocktails too.
This recipe is from my new Ebook Naughty & Nice Edible Gifts For Christmas.
Cheers!
Looking for more super easy homemade hooch ideas? Then check these out before you go;
How to make Cassis (French blackcurrant liqueur)
How to make traditional French Vin D’Orange liqueur
Golden vanilla vodka (with real gold)
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Christmas Bitters
Ingredients
- 4 oranges unwaxed or well scrubbed
- 2 tsp ginger fresh ginger peeled and chopped
- 500 ml vodka
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 vanilla pod
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
Instructions
- Peel skin from oranges avoiding pith and dry this along with the ginger slices in a low oven (120C/250F) for 45 mins
- Bash all spices to release flavours and place in a large jar
- Add the orange peel and ginger and top up with vodka
- Pop on a lid and shake well
- Set aside in cupboard for 2 weeks shaking regularly
- Strain through double layer muslin or 2 sheets kitchen paper and decant into small sterilised bottles.
- Will keep for up to 1 year
Just made the Christmas bitters recipe – very easy and it came out great! I added some to a ginger ale based cocktail that was a bit too sweet and it really transformed it. Thanks for the recipe. Love your blog!
Love this recipe–a go to for me now. I let the orange peel steep alone for 4 days first, so the more herbaceous stuff doesn’t overwhelm the recipe. I also delay the Cinnamon, Anise, and 2 cloves (my add) a day or two after the other ingredients as I find they tend to overwhelm bitters recipes if left in too long.
Use it in Christmastinis of course, but 3-5 drops in morning coffee…good stuff!
Thanks Jeff, glad you like the bitters so much and great idea with the coffee. Merry Christmas
K
Love this recipe–a go to for me now. I let the orange peel steep alone for 4 days first, so the more herbaceous stuff doesn’t overwhelm the recipe. I also delay the Cinnamon, Anise, and 2 cloves (my add) a day or two after the other ingredients as I find they tend to overwhelm bitters recipes if left in too long.
Use it in Christmastinis of course, but 3-5 drops in morning coffee…good stuff!
Hi Jeff
Thanks for the great review, so glad you like my Christmas bitters so much. Now why didn’t I ever think of adding a few drops to my coffee, genius! Merry Chritsmas!
K
We love these bitters! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I’m just setting up my second batch, and I’ve got a question. If I were to double the vodka, but let the recipe age longer than the 2 weeks, do you believe the flavors would still be potent? The oranges are the only reason I would do this…using 4 whole oranges for one batch is somewhat wasteful for our family, as none of us enjoy drinking orange juice (the only use I can come up with for the oranges after peeling the outermost layer).
Hi Erin
Glad you love the bitters so much. I’ve never tried doing what you are suggesting so I can’t really help you on that one. I would never use less oranges when I’m making it.
K