Leah Selim came to our launch party, took some sample bottles home, and got to experimenting. She shared this delightful cocktail which nicely offsets the smokiness of mescal with the bite of ginger beer, and brings it all into harmony with our aromatic bitters. Thanks Leah!

The Mexicali Mule

Rafael Cohen came to our launch party and got free samples of our bitters, and was struck with inspiration! He sent in this delicious cocktail recipe, and we think you’ll really enjoy it.

The Goldminer’s Daughter

• ½ clementine muddled and strained
• ¼ meyer lemon squeezed + lemon zest
• 1oz Michters Bourbon
• 1oz Jack Daniels Tennesee Honey
• some dashes of Citrus bitters
• splash of soda

Mix ingredients in a rocks glass. Top with soda. Garnish with a twist.

We had a great time at our launch party, and we wanted to share the recipes for the different cocktails with everyone who came.

Pandorange Punch (Green Drank)
This is our take on a jungle juice, except less sweet and more complex. To keep it from getting too cloudy we like to strain the juice and remove as much pulp as possible.

• 1 Liter Belvedere Vodka
• 2 tbs Hella Bitter Citrus 
• 1 tsp Hella Bitter Aromatic
• 1 ¼ cup  Aperol
• 1 pint  Blue Curacao 
• ½ gallon OJ
• 1 pint Pineapple Juice
• 1 cup Fresh Lemon or Lime Juice

Start with straining the juice into a large container. Add Vodka, Aperol and Blue Curacao. Stir and taste. This is a good time to adjust sweetness by adding more fresh lemon/lime if too sweet and more pineapple if not sweet enough. Do this to taste. Add bitters. Serve in highball over rocks. Have fun with the garnish. Cocktail umbrellas, slices of pineapple or anything else you think would be festive. 

Enough for a party of 15. 

Brooklyn Fish House Punch Ya Mamma
Inspired by a recipe for Philadelphia Fish-House punch from the great book, Imbibe, by David Wondrich. 

• 1 Pint Hennessy
• Oleo-Saccharum Mixture*
• 2 Pints Cold Water
• ¾ cup Fresh Lemon
• Grated nutmeg
• 1 Tbs Hella Bitter Aromatic 

*Oleo-Saccharum: 1 cup white sugar and the peels of three lemons (with as little pith as possible) and let those mingle until the sugar becomes glistening with lemon oil (about 2 hours). Take one pint of the water and bring to boiling. Add to sugar and peel mixture and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove lemon peels. Let cool. Add Lemon Juice, booze and and remaining water. Serve over ice. Top with fresh grated nutmeg. 

This recipe will serve about 8 people.  

Hella Bitter Gin & Soda
A classic twist on a pink gin with the addition of some seltzer. Because Gin is such a citrus-rich spirit, it is a natural match for our Citrus bitters. Don’t forget about this one on a hot day in July. 

• 1 oz Beefeater 24 
• 5 dashes Hella Bitter Citrus
• 2 oz Seltzer
• Grapefruit Twist

Combine in double rocks glass over ice. Top with soda. Garnish with a grapefruit twist. 

The Mothership

• 2 oz Alchemia Infused Ginger
• .5 oz Scotch Bonnet Syrup*
• .5 oz Fresh Lime
• 3 Dashes Hella Bitter Citrus
• Pinch of cinnamon

Shake and strain into a highball over ice. Top with 3 oz soda. 

*Scotch Bonnet Syrup: Make syrup by combining 1 cup sugar to 3 cups water in a pan over low heat. Bring to a simmer. Julienne two scotch bonnet peppers or one habanero.  Remove most seeds. Add to simmering syrup. Cook over low heat until it’s a spicy as you like. We recommend about 10-15 minutes. Strain to remove peppers (unless you want it Hella Spicy, in which case, immersion blender?)

To everyone who came out to the party last night, we want to say thanks for all the support. We especially want to thank the kind volunteers who shared their time, wisdom and energy with us.

If you don’t already, go over to Twitter and follow us and like us on Facebook.

If you already blew through your free samples (we heard people were doing bitters shots?!), click the Get Some tab at the top of this page and place an order!

We will be posting the recipes from the party on Monday, so keep it locked!

Thanksgiving is coming up, and we thought we’d share some cool ideas we had for using Hella Bitter in some of our favorite holiday recipes. Of course, if you’re having mulled cider or any other after dinner cocktails, there’s no reason not to get some Hella Bitter in the mix, but bitters aren’t just for boozing!

Cranberry Chutney

This is a bit of a twist on the classic cranberry sauce, but it’s a knockout. It will make you want to strangle your parents for putting that canned crap on the table when you were growing up.

• 1 lb cranberries
• 1/2  C. sugar
• 3/4 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. water
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice

Mix all ingredients in a 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat.  Stir frequently until the juice of the berries is released.

Next add:

• 1 Tbsp. Hella Bitter Wormwood Aromatic
• 1 large tart apple, chopped
• 1/2 C. chopped celery
• 1 C. chopped yellow onion

Lower heat and let the chutney reduce, stirring occasionally for 30-45 minutes or until it’s thick and hearty. We like to serve it cold, and it lasts in the fridge for weeks, so you can make it well in advance of Thanksgiving day

Sage Stuffing

You can make this and stuff it up your bird’s keister, or make it separately and add some drippings from the bird when you get them. We make everything from scratch at Hella Bitter and as such, this recipe includes a great cornbread recipe.

The cornbread recipe assumes you have an 8” cast iron skillet. You might want to do a recipe and a half if you have a 12” skillet or some kind of cake pan or whatever. Get a skillet, though.

Cornbread

• 1 C all purpose flour
• 1/2 C polenta or coarse ground corn meal
• 1/2 C fine or medium ground corn meal
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C milk (or other dairy product - cream, yoghurt, whatever you have)
• 1 egg
• 6 Tbsp melted butter

Put the butter in a skillet and put it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°. Now you are going to have to work fast so the butter doesn’t smoke.

Mix the dry ingredients. If you are using yoghurt or sour cream, add a pinch of baking soda. Mix egg and milk together. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add egg/milk mixture. Do not mix in until you add the melted butter from the skillet. Pour into the skillet and bake in 425ºF oven for 20-25 minutes ‘til a toothpick comes out clean. 

Dressing

• 1 C. onions
• 1 C. celery
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 C. turkey stock (or chicken stock)
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1 Tbsp Hella Bitter Sage
• 1 Tbsp rubbed sage

Let the cornbread hang around in your kitchen for a day or so, so it dries out a bit.

Put your stock over medium heat just to warm it up a bit.

Now put a pat of butter into your skillet over medium heat, and when it stops frothing, add your celery and onions. Stir frequently until they are soft and translucent. Cut the heat.

Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl and add the celery, onions, salt, pepper, sage and bitters. Toss it together. Now start adding your butter and then your stock. Add more if you need it. You want this to be moist, but not soggy. Serve warm.

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That about wraps it up! We hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving holiday and we are certainly thankful to have you. Also thanks to Donna Smith-Harrison for her recipe consultations.