DIY Amaretto

Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that tastes like almonds, though it's made from apricot kernels.

DIY Cherry Bitters

Swapping in cherry bitters for Angostura bitters can give your cocktails a subtle yet delightful boost, adding a hint of fruit while still delivering the bitterness your drink needs. The best part about making your own is you can customize your bitters to your cocktailing needs.

DIY Pastis

Pastis is an anise-flavored aperitif that's one of life's little luxuries, and you can make a richly flavored homemade version by steeping some spices and bark in a jar for just a few days.

DIY Sweet Vermouth

Sweet vermouth has a delicate balance of rich, spicy, sweet, and bitter flavors, and is an essential ingredient in dozens of classic cocktails.

DIY Orange Bitters

Just a drop or two of orange bitters can add the right depth to your cocktail or bridge together ingredients that aren't quite living up to their mixological potential. Deep, citrusy, spicy, complex orange bitters are an essential part of so many balanced cocktails.

DIY Grapefruit Bitters

Grapefruit bitters do double duty, giving a cocktail a little citrus lift along with the bitterness. These bitters go especially well with effervescent drinks or tequila and gin cocktails.

DIY Gin

When it comes down to it, gin is basically a neutral spirit flavored with juniper berries and a bunch of other stuff. So while it might seem like putting a bunch of berries and herbs in vodka couldn't possibly result in a drinkable gin, you can make a gin just as complex and delicious as a store-bought one.

DIY Allspice Dram

Allspice dram is a simple liqueur flavored with allspice berries that adds a dark, strong, and spicy counterpoint to rum and cocktails. Even though you can find it on store shelves now, it's much more fun to make it at home.

DIY Falernum

Falernum can be tricky to find commercially, but it's easy to make at home so that you can be ready to mix up lots of classic Tiki cocktails.

Krangostura Bitters

These Krangostura Bitters, a loose play on the quintessential Angostura brand, are brimming with clove and cardamom and supported by a backbone of gentian root and cinchona bark. Try them in your next Manhattan or Old Fashioned and branch out from there.