Over the past week, we’ve been “beta testing” a new recipe for winter that we’re calling the Squirrel Nut Bitters. It’s a pecan & vanilla base and it’s been fantastic in bourbon and aged rum cocktails – and really fantastic in a NY Flip. We’re putting another batch down this weekend to tweak the formulation – we want it a little more “nutty” before it’s ready for prime time!You can find these bitters behind the bar at Death & Co. and Milk and Honey.

Batch 003 of the Xocolatl Bitters – our biggest batch yet at a little over 1.2 liters was finished at 7pm last night. Finishing the bitters means that we strain the bitters twice through six layers of cheesecloth and then add in purified water to bring it to a final strength of approximately 105 proof. Once this process is complete, the bitters are shelf stable and won’t really evolve any further.

Phil Ward at Death and Co needed a batch in advance of putting a few cocktails featuring the bitters on their menu. It’s understandable – you don’t want to put a cocktail up on the menu and then have to pull it off because you’re out of one of the key ingredients – so 500ml was delivered last night (see the recipes page for his fantastic Chocolate Martica).

Others getting refreshes from this batch will be Matt from Milk & Honey/GoldBar and a bottle for the crew at Little Branch.