Bittermilk Makes Homemade Cocktails Easier, And Better, Than Ever Before

Making cocktails at home just got a whole lot easier.
|

Making cocktails at home can be intimidating. First you need the right tools, then you need the right shaped ice, and then you need all the right ingredients of course. Even if you're making a simple cocktail, it probably includes at least three ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily just have lying around the house. Sometimes it can feel like more work than it's worth.

A new company called Bittermilk is changing the homemade cocktail game. Bittermilk sells bottled cocktail mixes containing everything you need for a complete drink. That's right: everything you need in one bottle. Each bottle includes a bittering agent, a sweetener and an acid, and all you do is mix the liquid with your liquor, and soda if you're using it. It's really easy and we think pretty genius.

As Bittermilk's instructions say, "The labor is in the bottle. Just add booze." (And ice and soda if you want.)

Bittermilk comes to us from husband and wife team Joe and MariElena Raya. They currently sell three variations of cocktail mix: Smoked Honey Whiskey Sour (17 ounce bottle for $15); Tom Collins With Elderflowers and Hops (17 ounce bottle for $15); and Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Fashioned (8.5 ounce bottle for $15). New Orleans Style Old Fashioned Rouge is in the works. We tried the Tom Collins mix and adored it. Unlike too many cocktails, this mix wasn't too sweet; instead, it was light and refreshing.

If we had it our way, we'd have a Bittermilk mix for every cocktail we love. We think a Manhattan mix would work really well, as would a Negroni mix and something Mojito-esque.

Check out Bittermilk's website for recipes and locations where Bittermilk is sold.

Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

The Most Influential Cocktails Of All Time
The Martini(01 of07)
Open Image Modal
The ultimate cocktail: The Martini
The most important cocktail for my money is the martini. It's certainly the most symbolic -- when you look at the cocktail glass it conjures up all of these images of the Rat Pack and James Bond. The glass alone says sophistication and it has become the universal symbol of cocktail culture. Even though the Manhattan is the drink that led to the martini, the martini stole its thunder in terms of popularity.

Related: The Great Mysteries Of The Martini, Solved
(credit:Food Republic)
The Daiquiri(02 of07)
Open Image Modal
If you can only master one drink: The Daiquiri
The daiquiri is the gold standard of all sour cocktails. It's simple and clean -- just rum, fresh lime and a tiny bit of sugar to balance the lime. It's exquisite. The margarita is very similar to the daiquiri just with tequila instead of rum, Cointreau instead of sugar and the addition of salt, which is what I think made it very popular since it touches every bit of your palate.

Related: Sorrel Daiquiri Recipe

Photo via Flickr user kurmanstaff
(credit:Flickr: kurmanstaff)
The Old Fashioned(03 of07)
Open Image Modal
Drinking history: The Old Fashioned
If you look at a drink like the Old Fashioned (named for its status as the earliest cocktail), it is really just sugar, bitters, ice and rye whiskey or bourbon. But if you look closer, you can see how bartenders have continued to use this formula in new versions of the drink. You can find variations like the Oaxaca old-fashioned (with mescal) or the elder fashioned (a version with gin and St. Germain) that my good friend Phil Ward invented.

Related: Rare Breed Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

Photo via Flickr user thebittenword.com
(credit:Flickr: thebittenword.com)
The Tom Collins(04 of07)
Open Image Modal
The definition of refreshing: Tom Collins
The Tom Collins is a long refreshing cocktail with a basic recipe that has led to many great drinks. It's basically a highball that's been made very, very well. Making a Tom Collins is almost like making a margarita or white lady. It's essentially a gin sour that's been lengthened with soda water to make it a tall, refreshing drink. So if you look at something like a Cuba Libre (coke, rum and lime), the Dark and Stormy (rum and ginger ale) or even the mojito (muddled mint, sugar, lime, rum and soda) you can see the Tom Collins' influence. A mojito is almost like a rum Tom Collins with mint.

Related: How To Make The 10-Second Mojito

Photo via Flickr user 3n
(credit:Flickr: 3n)
The Bloody Mary(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
The only drink that's acceptable to drink in the morning: The Bloody Mary
The Bloody Mary is, of course, the drink that makes it OK to drink cocktails in the afternoon (or morning). It's also the cocktail that bars that don't specialize in cocktails often do well. You can go to your local dive bar and they may have their own version of the Bloody Mary. Pubs in England that don't serve any other cocktail (with the exception of Pimm's Cup) will serve them. It's absolutely everywhere.

I credit the Bloody Mary's success to the amount of flavor that is in it -- its almost like drinking gazpacho. It really is a meal. And like all of these influential drinks, there are many versions of it like the red snapper (with gin), the Bloody Maria (with tequila) and the Bloody Caesar (with Clamato juice).

Related: 7 Ways To Upgrade That Boring Bloody Mary

Photo via Flickr user hawleyjr
(credit:Flickr: hawleyjr)
The Negroni(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
The definitive apéritif: The Negroni
I always refer to the Negroni as the Guinness of cocktails since most people don't like Guinness until they have had three. (After the third, their palate has adjusted.) It's similar with the Negroni. As the Italians know, there is truly nothing better to drink before you eat than a bitter cocktail like this one. The basic formula of equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari is a jumping off point for many other bitter drinks.

Related: Photo Gallery: 7 Creative Negroni Spins

Photo via Flickr user Geoff Peters 604
(credit:Flickr: Geoff Peters 604)
The Bellini(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
When a glass of Champagne just isn't enough: The Bellini
The Bellini is a beautiful, refreshing drink that is low in alcohol and is really closer to drinking wine. No spirits touch these drinks and, yet, they're still considered cocktails. The Champagne cocktail adds another dimension to a great glass of Champagne with the introduction of some bitters on top of a sugar cube that is dropped into the Champagne, suddenly turning it into a bitters and soda-style drink. Just much fancier.

Related: How To Order Champagne Like A Baller

Photo via Flickr user ChodHound
(credit:Flickr: ChodHound)

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE