How to Make Chocolate Mole Bitters

This post was made in collaboration with Crew Co. and contains affiliate links

If you’ve ever wanted to level up your home bar with a homemade bitters recipe, this chocolate mole bitters is an absolute game changer.

Rich, complex, and full of warm spice, it’s the perfect addition to whiskey cocktails, Old Fashioneds, or especially anything made with tequila or mezcal. Making your own bitters might sound intimidating, but this easy infusion method turns a handful of spices, cacao nibs, and dried chile into something truly special. Grabbing one of these special bottles from Crew will be helpful, but otherwise, most everything can be easily found at the grocery store or spice shop.

I’ve been experimenting with housemade cocktail bitters for a few months at least. I’m no expert but this recipe has quickly become one of my favorites. It’s a bit of a “Frankenstein” as it’s been put together and adapted from various recipes, guides and resources I’ve found throughout the internet… but, it works! The combination of roasted cacao, cinnamon, clove, and dried ancho chile brings just the right balance of chocolatey depth and subtle heat. Despite the 7-10 day infusion time, it’s not a ton of work either.

What you need:

– 1 cup vodka or neutral spirit

– 7-8 roasted cacao nibs 👈

– 1 whole cinnamon stick

– 4-5 cloves

– Pinch of allspice berries

– 1 tsp oregano

– 1 tsp dried wormwood leaf 👈

– ¼ tsp angelica root 👈

– ½ tsp sesame seeds

– 1 dried ancho chile 👈

– agave syrup

Grab a Crew Bottle or “Chubby” here 👈 This will help a lot with the infusion, and also be a useful tool for future cocktails and syrups.

Let’s do it!

Pour neutral spirit into the “Chubby” bottle or Crew Bottle. Take all your ingredients (except for the ancho chile and agave) and lightly crush everything up, then add into the bottle. Let this all sit and infuse for at least 7 days. Try and shake the bottle once or twice a day, and store in a cool, dark place.

After 7 days, cut up one dried ancho chile and add to the bottle. Let infuse for another 2-3 days.

Strain out the solids through a cheese cloth or coffee filter. You might need to do a second strain to get all the fine particles out. 

Make 1:2 agave syrup (1 part agave to 2 parts water) and then add 2 tablespoons to your infusion. Shake everything together and let rest for another day. Then you can use a dropper or transfer to a dasher bottle for use in your next cocktail.

Store at room temp, but tightly sealed, in a cool dark place for about a year.