It's A Bitter Christmas For Me

We finally moved into our new house, and while I am still unpacking the millions of boxes of our crap (why do we own this much stuff???) I had to take a break to post an entry to this months Home bar Awards contest. Novembers theme is Go Bitters, or go home and there was no way I was going to miss it. I was lucky enough to have recently been gifted some of Scrappy’s Bitters product so I had a lot of inspiration to work with. It was their chocolate and orange bitters that made me think of one of my all-time favorite Christmas candies, Terry’s Chocolate Orange. I don’t want to brag, but my husband and I have already polished off at least one chocolate orange in a single sitting. 

The challenge was to use a whole ounce of bitters in a cocktail. Traditionally bitters are used in a small amount to season a cocktail, but the trend of using bitters as a fully fledged ingredient has become more popular recently. I modified the specs of a sidecar and with an ounce of bitters this is not a cocktail for the faint of heart, or anyone who likes their drinks on the sweeter side. The result is a cocktail with an initial bitterness followed by a sweet citrusy after taste and a chocolate orange scent.

Bitter Christmas
1 oz. Hardy XO Cognac
1 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Scrappy’s Bitters Chocolate bitters
1/2 oz. Scrappy’s Bitters Orange bitters
1/2 oz. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled and slightly diluted. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with an orange twist and a slice of Terry’s chocolate orange.

Cheers!