If you love the taste of smoky, chocolaty Mexican mole sauce, infusing bitters with similar spices brings a unique and delicious touch to your cocktails. Mole bitters are perfect for Mexican liquors like tequila or a Mexican dark rum, or try a few drops (instead of Angostura bitters) in your Old Fashioned, Manhattan, or Sazerac recipe to add a little chocolaty, smoky flavor with only a mere hint of heat.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor profile | Cocoa nibs, raisins and ancho on the bottom, cinnamon, clove and allspice through the middle, orange peel on top, and the bittering roots pulling the finish dry |
| Primary heat source | Two dried ancho peppers, seeded and roughly chopped |
| Heat level | Barely there. Anchos run 1,000 to 1,500 SHU, and you’re only using a couple of dashes at a time |
| How it’s made | A sealed jar sits in a 140°F water bath for a few hours, then into an ice bath and strained through cheesecloth |
| Best uses | A few dashes in place of Angostura in an Old Fashioned, Manhattan or Sazerac, and anywhere there’s tequila, mezcal or dark rum in the glass |
| Yield and keeping | About 350 dashes from one cup of vodka. Sealed and out of the light, it keeps for years |
Flavor notes
Ancho peppers, like in mole sauce, are the primary chili pepper in the recipe. There’s only the mildest of heat in this pepper (especially when infused), so the bitters are certainly more sizzle than sweat.
The rest of the jar is straight out of the mole pantry: cocoa nibs, cinnamon, clove, allspice, sesame, cumin, raisins and dried orange peel. None of it argues with the pepper. Ancho’s already earthy and smoky with a raisin sweetness of its own, so the nibs and the dried fruit aren’t adding anything new. They’re piling on what’s already there. Dark and roasted, all the way down.
Two ingredients bring the “bitter” in bitters. Wormwood leaf, and either angelica or gentian root. Leave them out and you’ve got a nicely spiced vodka, nothing more. They dry out the finish, which is why a couple of dashes can turn a drink around instead of just perfuming it.
The cocoa here is nibs, not chocolate. Nibs give you the roast and a little bitterness without the sugar or the dairy, which keeps this on the bitters side of the line.
Adaptation ideas
- Want more heat? Trade one of the two anchos for a dried chipotle. That’s 2,500 to 8,000 SHU and a lot more smoke, so taste before you swap both.
- More dried fruit, less smoke? Use one ancho and one pasilla. Pasillas are fruitier and raisiny with far less smoke, and it tips the whole thing toward the cocoa.
- Can’t find anchos? Our guide to ancho pepper substitutes has the dried chilies that stand in closest.
- Softer or sharper? The ingredient list lets you pick angelica root or gentian root. Gentian’s the aggressive one. Angelica for a rounder finish, gentian when you want it to bite.
- No sous vide? Skip the heat altogether. Seal the jar, park it somewhere dark at room temperature, shake it once a day, and strain after two to three weeks.
- Too much clove? Clove and cinnamon are the loudest things in the jar. Halve them both and the cocoa and ancho come forward.
Serving ideas
Bitters are seasoning, not a mixer. Two or three dashes is the whole dose, and it’s easy to overshoot.
- In an Old Fashioned: A straight swap for the Angostura. Same job, but with cocoa and dried chili underneath.
- With tequila or mezcal: This is where it belongs. A dash in a margarita or a spicy paloma picks up smoke that’s already in the glass.
- In a Manhattan or Sazerac: Use it alongside your usual bitters instead of replacing them, and the rye stays in charge.
- In coffee or hot chocolate: A dash in either one, and the cocoa and cinnamon already in the bottle do the rest.
- On dessert: A few drops over vanilla ice cream, or stirred into a chocolate sauce.
Storage notes
Strain it properly. Anything left in there keeps extracting, and a batch that sits on its solids another week turns muddy and over-bitter. Cheesecloth first, then a coffee filter if you want it clear.
Bottle it in something with a dasher top. You can’t get a controlled dash out of a mason jar, and control is the entire point of bitters.
Sealed and out of direct light at room temperature, it’ll keep for years. The alcohol does the preserving, so it doesn’t need the fridge. Label the bottle with the date you strained it.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Habanero Bitters: Looking for a spicier cocktail add? These habanero bitters provide a bigger heat, plus plenty of spiced flavor.
- Habanero Simple Syrup: Another cocktail ingredient twist, adding spiciness any time simple syrup is needed.
- Jalapeño Simple Syrup: Looking for a syrup that’s not quite as spicy? This one taps the medium heat jalapeño, providing a more family-friendly kick.
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Mole Bitters
Ingredients
- 2 ancho peppers
- 1 cup vodka
- 2 tablespoons cocoa nibs
- 1/2 cinnamon stick 2 to 3 inches long
- 1 tablespoon raisins roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried orange peel
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon dried wormwood leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon angelica root or gentian root
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the stems off the ancho peppers, then slice the chilies open lengthwise. Remove the seeds from the interior, then roughly chop the anchos.
- Place all ingredients in a one quart mason jar (or sous vide bag), then seal the jar airtight.
- Place the mason jar in the hot water. Leave it there for 3 hours.
- Fill a large mixing bowl with water and ice, leaving some room (about 3/4 filled).
- Remove the mason jar from the hot water and place in the ice water. Allow the mason jar to cool for 20 minutes.
- Remove the jar from the ice water and unseal. Strain the liquid through a cheese cloth into a clean jar or another sealable container, then seal. Store in a shaded area at room temperature.
