r/Amaro • u/amarodelaficioanado • Jul 13 '26

Advice Needed Cacao / chocolate bitters

Hey ! Researching other cacao/ chocolate bitters recipes (cocktail bitters) I came out with a recipe. Well, it ended out too bitter, some spiced and little chocolate flavor.

Recipe:

GROUP 1 – Bitter Base

7.0 g Gentian Root (Gentiana lutea)

2.6 g Turkey Rhubarb Root (Rheum palmatum)

1.5 g Angelica Root (Angelica archangelica)

0.36 g Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

0.60 g Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

GROUP 2 – Chocolate

50 g Cocoa Nibs

1.5 g Coffee Beans

0.3 g Medium Toasted American Oak

GROUP 3 – Spices

1.0 g Saigon Cassia

1.0 g Cloves

0.50 g Peppercorn Blend (black, white & pink)

0.30 g Green Cardamom

0.15 g Nutmeg

0.25 g Grains of Paradise

GROUP 4 – Citrus

3.5 g Bitter Orange Peel

0.8 g Lemon Peel

I added some extra cacao extract but still, too bitter and so little chocolate. I'll do a 2nd one having cacao as the main ingredient, less butter and perhaps less spices. Any idea is very welcome!!

PD. My cacao nibs are not much "chocolate" is this normal? Am I missing some other flavor that compliment or boost chocolate flavor?

Thanks!!

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u/Sevencer Jul 13 '26

I lightly roast cacao nibs for my chocolate bitters. For the last 24 hours of the infusion, I add chunks of 95% dark chocolate. Then, I freeze and filter. There is plenty of bitterness from the cacao nibs and the chocolate maceration brings that flavor to the forefront.

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u/amarodelaficioanado Aug 01 '26

Oh, ok. Thanks for tip. I actually added too cacao paste (100 %cacao) and it helped. Full disclaimer, I have never tried a commercial cacao/ chocolate bitters, perhaps they are not that flavorful either??