What Are Bitters?
What are Bitters and how to use them in your witchcraft practice
When most people think of bitters these days, they think of craft cocktails.
They’re used as a finishing touch or to enhance the flavor profile of the cocktail. But using bitters and bitter herbs for health benefits has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
So, what are bitters exactly?
In short, they are tinctures. A tincture is simply an extraction of a plant material, herbs, spices, berries, or citrus in a menstruum. Menstruum is the name for any liquid used for extraction. Such as alcohol, gylcerin, or an oxymel.
What takes it from just being a tincture to bitters is using specific herbs for their bitter compounds and adding complementary flavors to create a unique and flavorful mixture that can be used in cocktails, create mocktails, or sipped after dinner to aid digestion.
Tinctures can be bitter due to the material being extracted but that’s not their primary purpose. Tinctures are about focusing on the medicinal properties where bitters are focused on flavor and bitterness. Bitters have historically been used for their medicinal properties but most people now use them for flavor.
How to use bitters
I use bitters for both purposes. And I love to throw a little magickal intention in as well!
I absolutley love bitters with all my heart. Back when I used to wait tables for a living, working the next day after a late night out and a few too many drinks would be torture. I know, I know. I should’ve have been an adult and known better, but I digress. A club soda with a hefty shake of Angostura bitters would always help ease the nausea and upset stomach.
Bitters are still my go to for an upset stomach but now I create my own blends for different purposes.
If you’re interested in getting started with bitter tinctures, you’ll need gentian root. It’s one of the most bitter herbs out there and it’s the base for a lot of bitters recipes.
Making bitters for health, digestion, and flavor is pure magick in itself. I would call these magickal potions in and of themselves. The combinations for delicious blends and magickal uses are endless. If you’re not a huge fan of bitter flavor, start with less bitter herbs like agrimony as your base.
Add a little magick
It’s easy to add a little magick as well. Choose herbs for their magickal correspondences or infuse the liquid you plan to use with moon phase energy, Reiki, or a crystal grid. You’re only limited by your imagination!
Want to learn how to make a simple bitters?
