“Love Me Tender” Bitters
This homemade bitters for love harnesses the passion and love-drawing powers of cacao, rose, lavender and vanilla bean. We use brandy for its association with romance, although vodka will work in a pinch.
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Servings:
Equipment
- Bowl to hold the mason jar
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cacao nibs
- 1 tsp dried rose buds
- ⅓ vanilla bean, seeds scraped from the pod (add the pod too)*
- ½ tsp culinary lavender
- ½ cup brandy
Instructions
- Combine the cacao nibs, dried rose petals and lavender blossoms in a mortar and pestle (or a coffee grinder reserved for this purpose). Pulverize until the material is coarsely broken down, then add to a mason jar. Scrape the insides out of the vanilla bean and add to the jar along with the pod.
- Cover with brandy. Make sure the lid has a tight seal (look for lids with rubber gaskets), before shaking vigorously . . . but with tenderness. You want to put your energy into this potion, and yet you want that energy to be loving.
- Place your jar in a bowl and surround it with crystals that support the intention of drawing love into your life. Store in a cool, dark place for two weeks, shaking daily with that same loving energy.
- After 14 days, taste and decide if you're pleased with the potency. Strain out the aromatics and pour into a small amber-colored jar or these, if you're a fancy witch. Store out of direct sunlight, so the flavor retains its potency.
Notes
Yield
The aromatics absorb some of the brandy, so this recipe will yield less than you started with—approximately ¼ to ⅓ cups. Press on the solids to extract as much of the liquid as you can before bottling.
What to Do with Leftovers
Vanilla bean is potent, so to ensure it doesn’t overpower the other flavors in this bitters, this recipe only calls for ⅓ of a bean. Toss the rest into a small container and fill it with organic cane sugar to make a delicious vanilla rimming sugar for mocktails or future baking endeavors.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!