Tasting bitters

Getting a feel for how bitters taste is important, especially when making your own (but also I am realizing I should have done more with the ones I've purchased).

The difficulty, though, is that bitters are, well, bitter. And they are strong! Strong enough that you can't really taste background flavors.

So here are three ways to get an idea of the flavor of bitters:

1. Put a drop onto your palm (use a chopstick if you are macerating your own in a wide-mouthed jar). Rub your palms together, and then cup them and smell.
2. Put a little into some unflavored soda water and taste that.
3. Just taste a little straight. This might give you an idea of the strength, but you probably won't get much out of it, though, and it will probably wreck your ability to taste anything for a few minutes.

As my bitters macerate (steep), I am tasting them with methods one and three every day. I use a chopstick to get a drop to smell, and then I lick the chopstick. So far, the insta-gin has too much orange, so I removed the bit of peel, and the gentian root is really really bitter; the longer it sits, the stronger it gets and the longer it lingers.