Rosehip Bitters
A recipe by Jennifer Tyldesley, Canada
About Jenny
I started Free Pour Jenny’s in 2016, combining my interests in mixology, foraging, gardening, and alchemy.
I create small-batch, handcrafted cocktail bitters using homegrown and wild, foraged ingredients in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory (in northern Canada).
The boreal forest that surrounds Whitehorse is a perfect place for foraging for these amazing ingredients. My ingredients are hand-picked or grown in small amounts, and the bitters are then made with the fresh ingredients during the short growing season. As such, some flavours are seasonal and will be available in limited quantity.
What inspires you to use ingredients from the boreal forest?
The uniqueness of the ingredients inspires me. The fact that these ingredients are so unlike what you can find in a grocery store is motivating. It makes me feel more creative in finding uses for these beautiful and delicious things.
The history of this region inspires me. The fact that people have used these ingredients for such a long time, in a sustainable and meaningful way, is yet another reason to continue to forage and to discover new ways to incorporate the boreal forest’s diversity into our lives.
This is a stunning part of the world, and I hope you can visit. In any case, Free Pour Jenny’s bitters are truly the essence of the Yukon in a wee bottle!
Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) wild rose hips
1 Tbsp (15 mL) high bush cranberries
1 tsp (5 mL) organic cacao nibs
½ tsp (5 mL) organic gentian root
½ tsp (5 mL) organic wild cherry bark
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups (480 mL) vodka, 50% ABV
1 Tbsp (15 mL) organic blue agave syrup
Combine all ingredients except the syrup in a clean 1-litre Mason jar. Allow the jar to rest for 3 weeks in a cool place, shaking the jar daily.
Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined funnel into another clean 1-litre Mason jar. Add the agave syrup to the jar, shaking to mix. Allow the jar to rest for 3 days in a cool place, shaking the jar daily.
Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined funnel into clean glass bottles with either dasher caps or glass tube dropper lids.
Yields approximately four100ml bottles.
*Bitters will keep almost indefinitely if stored in a cool, dark place (not in the refrigerator).
For more about Jennifer, follow and connect with her on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freepourjennys/
Website: https://www.freepourjennys.com/
