A Jigger of Blog

I’ve had a bottle of Bittermen’s Xocolatl Mole Bitters, distributed by The Bitter Truth, for about as long as they’ve been available on American soil. I’ve played with them here and there, including in The Conference, my favorite cocktail. But I really haven’t written about them at all on this blog.

Last night I came up with a very simple Old Fashioned recipe that I think well compliments the Xocolatl Mole Bitters.

Mole-Bourbon Old Fashioned

3 oz. Buffalo Trace Bourbon
.5 oz demarara syrup
3 dashes Xocolatl Mole Bitters
1 drop Angostura bitters

Stir in an ice filled mixing glass. Strain into an ice filled tumbler.

Hey, it’s just an Old Fashioned, but I liked this combination a lot. The demarara, chocolate, and bourbon work incredibly well together. The Angostura provides a bit more depth.

I generally think that each kind of bitters I have should have an Old Fashioned recipe that I default to for their use. What kind of sweetener goes best with it? What kind of base spirit? What particular brand? Are their complimentary bitters that can work alongside them? All of these are questions that should be asked when it comes to using a bottling of bitters.

Now, in the case of Bittermen’s Xoxolatl Mole Bitters, I’ve used them successfully with bourbon, rye, cognac, calvados, tequila, and mezcal. I don’t really care to find something with vodka and I’d really love to see someone else go through the iterative process of making a cocktail work with gin as a base. But I do think there is great potential for rum, so maybe I’ll try to tackle that soon.

As a public service message, while I ordered the Mole Bitters through The Bitter Truth in Germany, the Boston Shaker is now re-distributing them in the US. Their Mole and Grapefruit bitters are $18, which is much cheaper than the cost of shipping them from Germany.