DIY Orange Liqueur

Top-shelf orange liqueurs are pricey, while bottom-shelf options can drag a good drink into the gutter fast. But homemade orange liqueur is just right...and it's a blast to make.

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 Orange Soda

DIY orange soda delivers the same satisfying combination of sweet and tart you get from the commercial version, but mixed in with the familiar sharpness and prickly joy of orange soda is a new and exciting flavor: that of real oranges.

DIY Melon Liqueur

The key to finding a melon-flavored liqueur that is not cloyingly sweet: make it at home.

DIY Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower cordial perks up a drink by adding a little sweetness and a light floral touch. For less than a dollar, you can make a delicious elderflower mixer that tastes a bit like a lemon bar mixed with a light, floral tea.

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.

Lemongrass Sour

Lemongrass infused vodka—combined with lemon bitters suspended on a head of eggwhite foam—makes for a light and delicately citrusy spring cocktail.

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 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.

Fresh Lemon Syrup

Whether you're juicing standard supermarket lemons or their seasonal Meyer cousins, save the rinds for this vibrant yellow syrup. It's pure sunshine in a bottle, made from nothing but sugar dissolved by the acidic pulp—no cooking required! Since there's no added juice, it tastes more sweet than sour, but is balanced by the subtle bitterness of lemon oil.