DIY Rhubarb Bitters

Rhubarb bitters pair well with many spirits and complement sweet, sour, and bitter flavors alike.

Updated April 10, 2023

In This Recipe

Why It Works

Rhubarb pairs well with many other flavors, making this recipe highly customizable depending on your preferences.

Rhubarb is one of my favorite cocktail ingredients. When rhubarb season arrived, I ran to buy as much as I could from the market that's usually first to get all the seasonal produce. When I couldn't find it, I went to the manager in a panic. "We used to stock that," he said. "But nobody likes it, so we stopped." I then dramatically flung myself onto the nearest support beam and screamed, "Noooooo!" as if I just found out Darth Vader was my father. (He is not.) Luckily, the next store had a whole display of rhubarb and promised me that they would keep stocking it throughout the season.

There isn't a cocktail ingredient that doesn't benefit from a little rhubarb. Steep some rhubarb in almost any clear spirit, and you'll be rewarded with a bright and fresh tasting infused spirit. Rhubarb syrup will rock your beverage world with its balance of sweet and sour, but I also like to get the tart, grassy flavor into my cocktails by juicing or muddling it. Until recently, the only mixological frontier I hadn't yet rhubarb-ized was bitters, which is just insane since rhubarb bitters pair well with every spirit and complement sweet, sour, and bitter flavors alike.

What's Available To Buy

You may be limited with what's currently available off the shelf. Two brands are Fee Brothers or Dillon's. Fee Brothers' rhubarb bitters are fairly easy to come by. They have a pronounced rhubarb and floral flavor that can add a lot to a cocktail, but I find them a little on the sweet side and don't like that they contain artificial flavoring.

Why DIY?

Rhubarb bitters are fun to make because there's a lot of room for experimentation. Chop up some rhubarb, add a bittering element and whatever else you think will taste good with rhubarb. Try grapefruit peel and rose petals for a gentle, floral bitters, or use allspice or anise for something spicier. Then steep it in some alcohol and you, my friend, have artisan rhubarb bitters.

Rhubarb is in season right now, so most farmers markets and grocery stores have plenty of this gorgeous magenta vegetable available. Rhubarb bitters may be rare, but rhubarb sure isn't.

I was inspired by the flavor profile of a floral gin when I came up with the ingredients in the recipe. So I combined the rhubarb with chamomile, lavender, juniper, and coriander along with lemon and lime.

How to Use Rhubarb Bitters

I like to mix my homemade grenadine with sparkling water and top it off with a healthy dose of rhubarb bitters. A few dashes of your rhubarb bitters will also liven up a gin and tonic, glass of club soda, or iced tea.

Drop a sugar cube in a champagne flute, give it a generous dousing with your DIY rhubarb bitters, then top off with sparkling wine for a twist on the classic Champagne cocktail. These bitters are especially delicious in Champagne cocktails like the French 75.

Rhubarb bitters also go well in a cognac drink, like Jackson Cannon's Cold Spring cocktail, which uses maple syrup as its sweetener.

And, while I personally don't want any rhubarb in my strawberry pie, I definitely do want it in my strawberry cocktails.

A Note on Rhubarb Safety

Rhubarb leaves are poisonous and should not be used for any recipes. Only use the pinkish-red stalks!

May 2012

Recipe Details

DIY Rhubarb Bitters Recipe

Active 20 mins

Total 384 hrs

Serves 480 servings

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups chopped rhubarb (red/pink stalks only, about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon zest from 1 lime
1 tablespoon zest from 1 lemon
1 1/4 cups 100-proof vodka
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
3 juniper berries
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
1 teaspoon dried chamomile
1/2 teaspoon cut cinchona bark (not powdered, see note)
1 teaspoon cut angelica root (see note)
1/2 cup light rum
1/2 cup water

Directions

Add rhubarb, lime zest, and lemon zest to a quart-sized jar. Add the vodka, seal, shake, and let sit for four days.
After four days, add coriander, juniper, fennel, lavender, chamomile, cinchona, angelica, and rum in second quart-sized jar. Seal, shake, and set both aside for 10 more days.
After 10 days, strain the solids out of each jar, reserving the solids and liquids separately. Combine the strained solids with the water in a small saucepan and set aside. Combine the strained liquids in a single jar and set aside. Heat the solids and the water over medium heat until simmering, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to jar with liquids. Seal, shake, and set aside for another two days.
Strain through sieve, pushing down to extract as much liquid as you can. Then bottle by filtering through a coffee filter or cheesecloth. Store at room temperature for up to a year.

Special Equipment

Two sealable glass jars, fine-mesh strainer, zester or peeler, coffee filter or cheesecloth

Notes

Rhubarb leaves are poisonous and should not be used for any recipes. Only use the pinkish-red stalks. If you cannot find high-proof vodka, substitute 80-proof vodka. You can use 151-proof neutral spirits, if available to you. Cinchona bark and angelica root are often available at herb shops or Latin markets. You can also buy them online. Cinchona bark can also be used to make other bitters or homemade tonic. You can substitute all one bittering herb, if you only have one available to you.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2	Calories
0g	Fat
0g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 480
Amount per serving
Calories	2
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 0mg	0%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 0mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.