Hellfire bitters | Tipple Sheet

So for the past two weeks, I’ve been eyeing my first batch of Hellfire Bitters, which have been infusing in my refrigerator. I waited as long as I could in high anticipation, then forgot about it for a week, which certainly made waiting a bit more bearable.

I finally opened the jar and tried them this past weekend! And….they were disappointing. Why? Because I didn’t follow the directions properly. Booo.

Credit goes to bitters manufacturer Zach Feldman for gently pointing out my error first. When I posted the details & photos from my experiment, he astutely noted:

Not to be a weenis, but I noticed that the recipe calls for straining *after* the two weeks is up — did you choose to strain beforehand because chilies infuse so quickly? It’s just that without any solids in your mix, there’s nothing for the vodka to keep pulling flavor from.

I went back and checked the directions — darn, he was right. I had strained out the chiles too soon, assuming that a two-week steep would yield intolerably too-hot bitters. I was wrong. Tasting the bitters straight up, there was a little bit of capsaicin tingle (mostly around my gums, which was rather offputting). But when added to a drink, the bitters added nothing at all, just a swirl of brown color.

Blogger and fellow cocktail geek Frederic saw this coming a mile away, commenting:

Keep in mind that “unbearable” for an infusion drank straight is different than “unbearable” for an infusion used dashwise…

Right said, Fred. It’s back to the drawing board for me!

For the longest time, I thought Hellfire Bitters were just an urban myth.

I’d see them listed on the occasional bar menu – but when I asked to try some at my favorite bar, the bartender just scratched his head. “Let me know if you find some,” he said. “They sound great.” As a peace offering, he mixed me a drink made with clove-scented Angostura bitters.

I asked Seattle-based mixologist Kathy Casey, who was a finalist in the 2009 Tales of the Cocktail bitters competition. (She steeped her bitters with bark and pine needles from her own Douglas Fir tree!) She hadn’t heard of Hellfire Bitters either, but gave me pointers on “bittering agents” such as gentian and chinchona bark.

And then, a wise cocktailian friend whispered in my ear: “Hellfire bitters are something one makes, not something one buys.”

A few more well-meaning whispers later, and I was staring online at the cover of a 1939 book, “Gentlemen’s Companion,” by Charles Baker Jr., and I had the recipe. Apparently, San Francisco-based cocktail maven Erik Ellestad has cleverly adapted a recipe for Hellfire Bitters from this very book. He jokingly refers to them as “Weaponized Bitters of Mass Destruction.”

This morning, I made a batch of Hellfire Bitters. I’m pleased to have solved the mystery. And especially, I’m pleased to share the recipe (and photos) here with you, so you can make them too– since obviously, you can’t buy them. Check back in 2 weeks – I’ll let you know how the bitters turned out, and will try them out in a cocktail!

Hellfire Bitters

Adapted by Erik Ellestad from “Gentlemen’s Companion” by Charles Baker Jr.

Ingredients

2 cups very hot chiles, such as such as Thai birds-eye chiles

2 Tablespoons molasses

2 cups vodka (preferably 100 proof)

2 limes, quartered

½ tsp Cinchona Bark Powder (Quinine bark powder)* (note – I subbed in Gentian, another bittering agent)

16 allspice berries, crushed

Combine all ingredients and blend briefly in a blender. Place in a sterile jar for two weeks, shaking intermittently. Strain through cheesecloth to remove solids and sediment, and decant into a small bottle.

*Note: quinine can be poisonous in large doses, so resist the urge to add larger amounts to your bitters.