How to Make Homemade Cocktail Bitters for Cocktails & Digestive Support

Learn how to make homemade cocktail bitters for your favorite drink recipes – or as a healthy supplement to your daily diet. Not only are these bitters as good or better than store bought cocktail bitters, they also make lovely homemade gifts.

Don’t just reserve these homemade cocktail bitters for alcoholic drinks though. You can also use your bitters to help aid with digestion and mineral absorption, relieve occasional heartburn, gas and bloating as well as aid in detoxification. Evidence also shows that homemade bitters can reduce inflammation and help with joint pain as well as reduce food sensitivities and promote regularity.

Following I’ll teach you how to make homemade cocktail bitters with two easy cocktail bitters recipes. The homemade bitters recipes include the ingredients needed in order to make orange bitters as well as peach bitters. I’ve also included a PDF of free downloadable cocktail bitters labels that I designed for your final bottles of bitters. Just for fun they say “Orange you bitter!” and “You’re such a (bitter) peach!“

These homemade cocktail bitters are perfect not only for your home bar but also for gifting to friends who love cocktails or simply bartending in general. (Or even as a gag gift for your favorite grump!) They’d make a great homemade gift paired with a cocktail recipe book – I’m keen on “Shake: A New Perspective on Cocktails” and “The Craft of the Cocktail” – and a mason jar shaker. Or even a large 2″ square silicone ice cube tray.

To create your own homemade cocktail bitters you’ll need organic fruits and spices – I purchased my organic spices from Mountain Rose Herbs – and Gentian Root Extract which I bought on Amazon as I couldn’t source this anywhere locally. As you use orange peel and lemon zest in these recipes as well, I chose to buy these organic and used fresh zest and peels.

You’ll also need 100 proof vodka to make these homemade cocktail bitters. I specifically used Smirnoff 100 Proof Vodka. One  750 mL of vodka will make about eight 1 oz. amber glass bottles (or four 2 oz. amber glass bottles) of each of the bitters.

 Orange Homemade Cocktail Bitters Recipe

Ingredients:

375 mL Smirnoff 100 Proof Vodka
4 oz. organic orange peels (from around two fresh oranges)
1/2 teaspoon organic fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon organic coriander seed
2 organic cardamom pods
10 drops Gentian root extract

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar and tightly screw on the lid. Keep in cabinet (out of light) for two to two and a half weeks, gently shaking once every other day. After two weeks strain the contents using a coffee filter. Use a small funnel to fill about eight 1 oz. amber bottles with glass droppers. Print out my homemade cocktail bitters labels here, if desired, onto a full sheet sticker label, cut out and then affix each jar with the “You’re such a (bitter) peach!” labels. To protect your labels from moisture you can first cover your labels with clear packing tape before cutting them out and adhering them to the bottles.

Peach Homemade Cocktail Bitters Recipe

Ingredients:

375 mL Smirnoff 100 Proof Vodka
2 peach pits from fresh peaches
zest from 1/4 organic fresh lemon
1 organic sweet (true) cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon organic whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon organic coriander seed
2 whole organic whole cloves
10 drops Gentian root extract

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar and tightly screw on the lid. Keep in cabinet (out of light) for two to two and a half weeks, gently shaking once every other day. After two weeks strain the contents using a coffee filter. Use a small funnel to fill about eight 1 oz. amber bottles with glass droppers. Print out my homemade cocktail bitters labels here, if desired, onto a full sheet sticker label, cut out and then affix each jar with the “Orange you bitter!” labels. To protect your labels from moisture you can first cover your labels with clear packing tape before cutting them out and adhering them to the bottles.

Now that you’ve completed your homemade cocktail bitters it’s time to put them to good use! One of my favorite cocktail recipes is for a French 75 with a local twist. This cocktail recipe calls for orange bitters and is a bit sweeter than the more traditional French 75 cocktail. Gin of course goes in a French 75, however if you prefer bourbon that works as well. It’s simply called a French 95. You can find my favorite French 95/75 cocktail recipe here. (For the French 75 I use New Amsterdam gin which isn’t mentioned within that particular cocktail recipe.)

For more homemade cocktail recipes be sure to follow my Food Recipes board on Pinterest. Or keep up with all of my new posts on Blog Lovin’. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.