Our Recipes

When the Italian fishermen of San Francisco threw together their combined catches, their respective gardens, and whatever wine they figured they could spare, they didn’t so much as create a masterpiece as procreate one. The heady addition of anise and fennel bitters marries the dish with the vibrancy of New Orleans: nothing short of physical passion in stew form.  Serves 6 Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced 2 medium yellow onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced ¾ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1½ cups white wine 2 teaspoons sea salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices 1 quart fish broth 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or finely chopped anchovy fillets 1 pound clams, scrubbed 1 pound mussels, scrubbed 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined 1 pound salmon fillets, cut into chunks ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons fennel bitters (Bar Keep) 1 tablespoon aromatic bitters Crusty bread, for serving Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery and onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Try not to brown. Put in the garlic and pepper flakes and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, salt, and black pepper; boil for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, broth, and anchovy paste. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the celery is cooked through.At this point, you can store the broth for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Bring back to a simmer before proceeding. Add the clams and mussels to the broth, cover, and cook until the shellfish are open, about 8 minutes. Add the shrimp and salmon, cover, and return to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and bitters. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Discard any clams and mussels that don’t open. Serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil, in big soup bowls with lots of crusty bread. Recipe from Mark Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari - Photo by Clare Barboza Recipe adapted from Mark Bitterman's new book, Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari. 

The root beer float is unique among nonalcoholic masterpieces—decadent yet refreshing, simply constructed yet layered and dynamic. Many have perished trying to turn it into an adventurous alcohol beverage. But what are your options? Rum is boring and whiskey wrecks it. Just about any pure distilled spirit suffers from trying to capitulate the root beer’s bold, spicy personality. In short, “correcting” a root beer float is a tough proposition. So rather than submit to the root beer’s sweet assertiveness, go on the offensive. Bitters, balanced in their own right, blend with root beers effortlessly. The result is as delicious as it is unlikely. Serves 1 (you) Ingredients: 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar  6 ounces root beer  1 small bottle Boonekamp bitters (Underberg, Kuemmerling, or other)  4 dashes mole bitters  4 drops spicy bitters 1 scoop vanilla ice cream Freeze a large snifter for about 15 minutes Hold the glass by its stem and sift the confectioners’ sugar all over the top half of the outside of the glass. Pour the root beer, bitters, and tincture into the frosted snifter.  Add the ice cream and stir once or twice. Serve with a straw.  Recipe from Mark Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitter's and Amari  

The presence of mulling spices in a drink is no big thing, except when the spices are actually mulling in the drink. Adding cloves and lemon peel to hot alcohol results in lightning-fast extraction of flavors that at first sip are delicious but can quickly become overwhelming. By the time you’re done, you feel like you need to dip yourself in alcohol to extract all the clove and limonene from you. Let bitters do the heavy aromatic lifting, and enjoy the stability of balanced bitter sweetness as it supports the boozy, spicy warmth at the heart of the drink. Serves 1 (you) Ingredients: 1 cup boiling water 1 tablespoon Demerara sugar 1½ ounces whiskey, bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, or Scotch 5 dashes citrus bitters 2 dashes aromatic bitters Pour the boiling water into a heated mug. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Sit, back, relax and enjoy! Variations: Bitter Boozy Coffee (aka Irish Coffee): Follow the recipe for the above, using freshly brewed hot coffee for the boiling water, Irish whiskey, and chocolate or cinnamon bitters for the citrus bitters. Top with a spoonful of softly whipped cream and drizzle the aromatic bitters on top. Hot Buttered Rum: Follow the recipe for the recipe above, using dark rum instead of whiskey and cinnamon or other spiced bitters for the citrus bitters. Top with a thin pad of unsalted butter and drizzle the aromatic bitters on top.  Recipe from Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari written by Mark Bitterman.         Recipe taken from Mark Bitterman's new book, Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari.