I’ve enjoyed a couple of martinis (reminds me of a joke I heard once) and I keep a bottle of angostura bitters around (reminds me of a joke I once heard) but when it comes to anything except cheap beer I’m pretty uninformed. So when I ran across this recipe for a martini:
which called for “pear bitters” I had to look that up. Here you go:
Pear Bitters
Contributed by Brad Thomas Parsons
INGREDIENTS:
3 Bartlett pears, cored and coarsely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, cut into strips
1 Cinnamon stick
.25 tsp Allspice berries
.25 tsp Black peppercorns
.5 tsp Chinchona bark
.25 tsp Callamus root
4 Cloves
1 Vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out (use both seeds and pod)
1 (3-inch) piece Fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups High-proof vodka
1 cup Water
2 tbsp Rich simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water)
PROCEDURE:
Place the pear, lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, chinchona bark, callamus root, cloves, vanilla and ginger in a 1-quart Mason jar or other glass container with a lid. Add the vodka, making sure all the ingredients are covered. (Add more vodka if needed.) Seal, and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 2 weeks, shaking once a day. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth-lined funnel into a clean 1-quart jar, squeezing the cheesecloth to release any excess liquid. Seal the jar and set aside.
Transfer the solids to a small saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Add the contents of the saucepan to another 1-quart Mason jar, seal and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight, for 1 week, shaking once a day. Strain through cheesecloth until all solids have been removed and add the liquid to the vodka mixture. Add the rich simple syrup and shake to combine. Let stand for 3 days and strain through cheesecloth again to remove any debris. The bitters will last indefinitely, but for best flavor use within 1 year.
There’s also apple bitters, but the above should be enough for a while. The jokes will have to wait for another day.
Just in case you needed something to do this winter!