Cocktails with Celery bitters
Celery bitters are cocktail bitters made by tincturing celery seed with supporting herbs and spices in high-proof spirit.
ABV44%In the bottle, negligible in the finished drink since it’s used only in dashes.
How it's used
Dash into a drink to add a savory, vegetal edge and round out gin, vodka or tequila bases. Classic in a Bloody Mary and useful anywhere you’d reach for celery salt.
Substitutes for Celery bitters
Another celery bitters works dash for dash. Without one, muddle a small piece of celery stalk, about an inch (2–3 cm), and taste. Stalk and seed share the main aroma compounds, though the stalk tastes greener. A small pinch of celery salt also works but adds salt, so cut back any saline in the recipe. Neither is bitter, so add a dash of aromatic bitters.
Salt mixed with ground celery seed: a pinch adds celery and salt at once.
Aromatic bitters with no celery note: dash for dash, the drink keeps its bitterness and loses the celery.
Storage
Celery seed aroma holds up better than a floral or a citrus but not as well as a spice. The vegetal edge that makes this useful in a Bloody Mary is the part that softens first. Cool, dark, closed, and it will do its job for a couple of years.
