Cocktails with Grapefruit bitters
Grapefruit bitters are concentrated cocktail bitters made from grapefruit peel, herbs and roots.
ABV40–45%The alcohol is negligible in the drink, since bitters are used only in dashes.
How it's used
A couple of dashes bring grapefruit oil and a dry bitterness with next to no sugar. That is why they work where a drink is already sweet: the bitterness cuts the sugar instead of adding to it. They suit clear spirits such as gin, white rum, tequila and pisco.
Substitutes for Grapefruit bitters
Orange bitters and grapefruit peel
Use the same number of dashes and express a strip of grapefruit peel over the glass. The peel brings back the aroma, and the bitters supply the bite.
Built on bitter orange peel, it keeps the bitterness but with a noticeably softer, rounder edge.
Leaving it out
Most recipes treat it as a finishing touch. The balance will not suffer much, so feel free to skip it.
Storage
The fresh grapefruit top note fades first. The bitterness itself is stable at 40–45%. Within a year of opening, expect it to taste like generic citrus bitters.
