Ideas for hop bitters?

[Craig E]

I have been gifted (from two different friends) two little bottles of Bittercube Door County Hop Bitters. How do I use this stuff, cocktailwise?

Searches of eGullet, and in fact of the whole internet, turn up only a handful of recipes, most of which require even more obscure ingredients. They were a limited edition, so the Bittercube site itself makes no mention of them.

So I'm hoping some of you can provide guidance:

- Have you used these in anything successfully before?

- Are there drink types, or other ingredients, you think might mesh well with them?

- Are there other types of bitters for which these would substitute well? Beyond the basics, I'm not that familiar with flavor profiles of many bitters (e.g. Boker's, Old Fashioned, Jerry Thomas), so I can't judge whether recipes calling for those might present some possibilities. 

[KD1191]

I have them, and they don't really fit into any existing archetype...I guess you might look for drinks that call for Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters? 

 

For cocktails, I've found them most adaptable to gin, and in classic dry martini-like applications. That said, I actually tend to reach for them most often to doctor beer.

 

ETA: I'm a huge supporter of the Bittercube line...obviously, but the hop bitters are far and away the least frequently used in my collection.

 

Edited September 13, 2014 by KD1191 (log)

[lesliec]

Egad! Even Kindred seems to have no recipes calling for them. I can't see myself remedying this lack - I don't like beer, and as far as I can make out it's the taste of the hops that does it.

[Lisa Shock]

I like beer, but don't like the big hops-y beers that are so popular right now. Give me a nice hefewiezen like Altenmunster,  or a dark beer like Negro Modelo or Sam Adams' 'Hazel', or Winter Solstice from Anderson Valley, and I am happy.

 

I was thinking maybe you could use the bitters to alter a beer cocktail and replace the beer, but, then I looked at beer cocktails.....I dunno...

 

The only use I can think of is to carry it when attending an event where you know your only beverage will be a cheap type of beer that's (stealing from Monty Python) like making love in a canoe. You'll then be able to improve your experience.

[ChefPip]

Just a wild guess here.  Could you incorporate a drop or two in Sourdough recipes.

[Czequershuus]

I have never tried them, but I do have a couple guesses in mind. Spirit wise I would think it would pair well with Gin, as juniper and hops do have a bit on an affinity. Probably pair even better with Genever, given the juniper plus malt factor. As a substitute it sort of depends on flavor profile. If they taste like citrus forward hops you could maybe sub for grapefruit or orange bitters. If they are funkier I am not as certain about subs. Take all this with a grain of salt, though, as I have not had a chance to taste the bitters. 

 

Or, as a joke drink, put one small drop in a vodka and soda and call it a Keystone Light 

[bostonapothecary]

Hops go so well with so much. There are a few cocktails at the end of my Distiller's Workbook exercise on hopped gin that might inspire and show the versatility. I imagine a dash of the bitters can quickly synthesize a lot of the character of hopped gin. I enjoyed hops in absolutely any citrus scenario and found that it can echo and alliterate so much of the qualities within grapefruit. Hops and grains naturally go so well together so any tart cocktails with lighter less aged whiskey's I imagine there will be a done of success. Hopped gin also was really enjoyable with Campari and Aperol so I imagine they'd easily sing with nearly any of the non-dark amaros.

 

One thing about hops is that the aroma is not stable. No one really acknowledges it but hopped gins break down and might even be sensitive to light just like beers so who knows what the shelf life of hopped bitters is. I'd use them quickly and randomly and report back!

[KD1191]

In the interest of science, I put a dropper's worth into a Burgundy glass and spent some time with it.

 

Initial aromas include a weedy, honeyed grass, evolving into wet wheat and gym bag. I wonder if honey was used in the manufacture. Not unpleasant, but not terribly appealing either.

 

Adding a bit of soda water, the primary flavor is resinous and piney. There's some spice that reminds me of some of the younger, rougher ryes on the market, and an astringency on the finish. The aftertaste has a lot of grapefruit pith and pomelo, and distinctly quassia bark bitterness that lingers. More grapefruit-like citrus aromas have come out as I let it sit for a bit.

[KD1191]

Following my nose, and suggestions above, I make an Old Pal riff with Old Potrero 18th Century and Lillet Rose. It's delicious, extremely complex aromatically, and I think features the hop bitters quite nicely.

 

Edited September 14, 2014 by KD1191 (log)

[Craig E]

Tonight I put my hops bitters to great use in this adaptation of Kyle Davidson's Fresa Cervesa:

 

2 oz. bourbon (I used Evan Williams, half black label and half white label)

3/4 oz. turbinado syrup

1/4 oz. dry vermouth (Noilly Prat)

3/4 oz. lemon juice

2 modest strawberries

3 dashes Bittercube hops bitters

 

Hard shake, fine strain, up.

 

Superdelicious!