Wormwood bitters
A 50% piołunówka in the style of old Polish stomach bitters: wormwood leads, with gentian, angelica, galangal, bitter orange, ginger and warm spices behind it, a breath of mint and elderflower, and a bitter finish softened with honey. You already have most of the herbs from the fig liqueur. Treat the amounts as a starting point and tune them by taste.
- Vodka in
- 2 L (100 proof)
- Bitters out
- about 2 L
- Strength
- roughly 48–50% ABV
- Start to bottle
- about 4 weeks
Shopping list
Amounts scale with the batch size above. The method text uses the 2 L amounts.
Botanicals to order online
| Got it | Botanical | Per batch | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| WormwoodArtemisia absinthium | 3 g | Organic wormwood herb and flower, 1 oz amazon.com/dp/B07W1CS8MF |
|
| Gentian rootGentiana lutea | 0.5 g | Starwest Botanicals organic gentian root, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B00ZSTPK62 |
|
| Angelica rootAngelica archangelica | 1 g | Angelica root, cut, 100 g (grown in Poland) amazon.com/dp/B0BQ4FF75L |
|
| GalangalAlpinia galanga | 1 g | Deliherb dried sliced galangal, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B093WN5B6Y |
|
| Bitter orange peelCitrus aurantium | 5 g | Brewer's Best bitter orange peel, 1 oz amazon.com/dp/B00ZPVFRY8 |
|
| PeppermintMentha × piperita | 1 g | Ecovista organic peppermint leaf, cut, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B0GH7DTXDP |
|
| Elderflowers, driedSambucus nigra | 2 g | Elanen Naturals organic dried elderflowers, whole, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B0BGMNRGZC |
Grocery store
Liquor store
Equipment
Know your botanicals
Wormwood Artemisia absinthium
Polish: piołun · 3 g
In the bag: crumbled silvery gray-green leaf, tiny yellow flower balls
Brings: the leading bitterness and a sage-like aroma
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Gentian root Gentiana lutea
Polish: goryczka żółta · 0.5 g
In the bag: yellow-brown to rusty woody chips
Brings: deep bitterness underneath the wormwood
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Angelica root Angelica archangelica
Polish: arcydzięgiel · 1 g
In the bag: gray-brown woody chunks, pale inside, musky smell
Brings: musky depth that ties the herbs together
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Galangal Alpinia galanga
Polish: kłącze galangi · 1 g
In the bag: hard tan discs, rust-red ringed skin, fibrous core
Brings: peppery, gingery warmth
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Bitter orange peel Citrus aurantium
Polish: gorzka pomarańcza · 5 g
In the bag: thin gray-green to tan curls of dried rind
Brings: bitter citrus that stands in for the kumquat note
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Peppermint Mentha × piperita
Polish: mięta pieprzowa · 1 g
In the bag: crumbled dark green leaf flakes with a strong, cool smell
Brings: a cool lift in the middle
Check: same bag as the raspberry-mint liqueur
Elderflowers, dried Sambucus nigra
Polish: kwiat bzu czarnego · 2 g
In the bag: whole dried flower clusters, creamy yellow, honeyed smell
Brings: a soft floral sweetness against the bitterness
Check: same bag as the elderflower vodka
Method
Everything bitter and spicy steeps for about a week, tasted daily because wormwood and gentian build fast. Mint and elderflower go in for the last day only, and honey rounds the finish without hiding the bitterness.
-
Day 0
Start the herb jar
Put the wormwood, gentian, angelica, galangal, bitter orange, ginger, star anise, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and kumquat slices in the jar and cover them with the vodka. Seal it, keep it dark and shake it once a day.
-
Day 3
Taste every day
From day 3, taste daily. You want a firm, clean bitterness with the spices clearly behind it; strain before it turns harsh and medicinal.
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Day 5 or 6
Add mint and elderflower for one day
Tie the peppermint and elderflowers in cheesecloth and hang the bundle in the jar for 24 hours.
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Day 6 or 7
Strain and press
Lift out the bundle, pour the bitters through a sieve, press the herbs in cheesecloth and filter it through coffee filters.
-
Same day
Soften with honey
Warm the honey with the water, no hotter than 40 °C (104 °F), let it cool, and stir it in a little at a time. Stop while the finish is still clearly bitter; honey should soften it, not sweeten it.
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Then 3 weeks
Bottle and rest
Bottle it and rest it at least three weeks so the herbs knit together. It keeps well for years.
Keep it safe
- Use only dried wormwood herb, never wormwood oil or a concentrated extract.
- The original also uses calamus root and quinine. Calamus is not permitted as a food ingredient in the US, and quinine bark is too variable to dose at home, so both are left out.
- At about 50% it catches fire easily. Keep it away from flames, serve it in small glasses, and label the bottles with the strength.
Tuning the next batch
- Too bitter or medicinal: strain a day earlier, or use 0.3 g of gentian.
- Not bitter enough: use 4 g of wormwood.
- Missing the fruity lift of the original: add 4 lychees, fresh or canned and drained, for the last two days.
- Too sweet: add the honey more slowly and stop sooner.
To serve
Serve it at room temperature in small glasses, before or after a heavy meal. A few drops also make a good bitters for cocktails.