Friend, sometimes mentor, and inveterate kitchen tinkerer Ed has been pestering the daylights out of us lately to make him a batch or two of orange bitters.
It seems Ed has a new favorite adult beverage to ‘put on the dog’ for company as he calls it – the rest of us would probably say something along the line of entertaining guests we’d like to sit on the porch and sip cocktails with…
Ed’s all over this Mezcal Margarita that somebody showed him a few months ago while chasing bonefish in Belize; he’s enamored enough to actually be squeezing his own limes for the Limonada, a feat those who know Ed well find somewhat amazing given his penchant for twisting the nearest arm to prepare him food and drink whenever he can.
When Ed first got back from Belize he was all about finding the ‘best damned orange bitters’; I directed him here to Serious Eats for a good review of options and a bit of orange bitters history though reminded him that he would probably be far better off making his own.
Ed wasn’t too thrilled with that option and suggested that we make him a batch, even after I showed him a couple of pretty easy recipes (on Serious Eats here and ChowHound here) for home-crafted orange bitters. The offer is out now for him to buy the goods for two batches and we’ll put them together – he’s chewing on it which really means he’s trying to coerce some neighbor to do it…
Time to track down a bit of mezcal if you don’t keep some around…
2 cups Limonada
1 and 1/2 cups mezcal
1/2 cup triple sec
2 tsp (scant) orange bitters
Roughly 6 cups ice
Scant 1 tbsp finely chopped orange zestLimonada
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 cups filtered water
Prep. Combine the Limonada, mezcal, triple sec and orange bitters (make some if you can’t find it) in a pitcher; stir to mix well. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Shake ‘em up. Into a cocktail shaker half full of ice pour 1 cup of the pitcher mixture; shake well, then strain into 2 glasses.
Don’t forget the orange zest. Quickly stir about 1/4 tsp of orange zest into each glass and serve.
Keep on shaking till gone.
Enjoy.
