Ranch Hand Bitters

This weekend, Jake and I headed down to our friends' ranch to help them pack. And when we were leaving, I noticed a juniper tree at the end of the driveway and made him pull over. We hopped out, plucked some berries, and I told Pia I'd made some 'ranch bitters.' The hand part came when an organic farm sent me some Buddha's Hand citron. 'ranch bitters' became 'ranch hand bitters.'

The bitters formula seems pretty simple - bittering agents plus flavoring agents plus alcohol. Cheers.

Ingredients

3 to 4 fingers from a Buddha's Hand citron, thinly sliced
3 T whole juniper berries
1 to 2 juniper cones
small bunch of sugar pine needles (cut to fit into your jar)
1 t birch bark pieces
1/2 t dandelion root pieces
12 to 14 ounces vodka

Procedure
Place 2 T of the juniper berries - whole - into the jar.

Crush the final T of juniper berries with a mortar and pestle. Place the crushed berries into the jar.

Place the remaining ingredients into the jar.

Make sure that the spices are submerged in the alcohol. Cover with a lid and place in the cupboard. Shake gently everyday. Let steep and infuse for two to four weeks. Strain and re-bottle.

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