DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavor - A Guide to Making Your Own Bitters for Bartenders, Cocktail Enthusiasts, Herbalists, and More

Make your own bitters at home to enhance your medicine cabinet, and your bar.

Used since the Middle Ages, bitters are made by combining various plant botanicals and/or spices with 100-proof alcohol and letting them sit until the bitter and medicinal qualities have been extracted. Just a small amount of the resulting liquid can then be used to stimulate the digestive system and promote healthy digestion. This is why “apertifs” and “digestifs” are so popular—both then and now!

DIY Bitters is a how-to guide that explores the history and health benefits of bitters, and shows you how to make your own bitters at home, to be used alone or in cocktails, tonics, and even main meals.

Herbalists Jovial King and Guido Mase, owners of the bitters company Urban Moonshine, teach you how to make recipes that range from Classic Digestive Bitters and “Angostura” Bitters to more innovative bitters like Cacao After-Dinner Mints and Kava-Ginger Pastilles.You can even find a guide for creating your own unique flavors from the plants and ingredients you have on hand. Some of the other recipes include:
 

• Angelica Elixir
• Bitter Ginger Syrup
• Hazelnut Hearth Bitters
• Rose Bitter Pastilles
• Chamomile Bitters
• Allergy Bitters
• Immune Bitters
• Nerve Bitters
• Sleep Bitters

You’ll also find profiles for an array of plant ingredients, from Agrimony to Yellow Dock, with all the details necessary to craft a formula that is truly a work of art. Listed alphabetically by common name, each species description covers history and lore, flavor profile, chemistry and extraction, and medicinal activity.

Whether enjoyed as an apertif, digestif, or as a remedy to settle an upset stomach, bitters are back!

Jovial King is a family herbalist, co-founder and owner of Urban Moonshine (urbanmoonshine.com), and author of DIY Bitters. She has studied herbal medicine extensively with an array of renowned teachers, including Rosemary Gladstar, Brigitte Mars, and Christopher Hobbs. Jovial started Urban Moonshine in her kitchen and has grown the company into a strong presence within the natural supplements industry. She has appeared as an Herbal Expert blogger for Martha Stewart’s Whole Living website, and Urban Moonshine has been featured in Food & Wine, Mother Earth Living, Fine Cooking, Imbibe, Epicurious, and more.

Guido Mase RH(AHG) is a clinician and educator in the Western herbal tradition. He spent his childhood in Italy and has been living in Vermont since 1996. His practice interweaves clinical experience, mythology, and science. He is chief herbalist at Urban Moonshine, clinician at the Burlington Herb Clinic, faculty member and clinical supervisor at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, teacher in herbal medicine at the University of Vermont, and author of The Wild Medicine Solution and DIY Bitters. He is developing the integrative phytotherapy department at Wasso Hospital in Loliondo, Tanzania.