Drink of the Week: Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters

“I’m kind of a purist,” says Jovial King, creator of Urban Moonshine, a new line of organic bitters. “In creating my formulas, I wanted something that was medicinal, for digestive purposes, but with great aromatics and flavors that would contribute to a variety of cocktails.” And her maple bitters perfectly balance both worlds—ingredients like dandelion leaf, fennel seed and calamus root sooth the stomach, while orange peel, ginger root and Vermont maple syrup add flavoring components that brighten a cocktail, like in the Old Vermont, created by John Gertsen of Drink in Boston.
$11 for 2 oz., urbanmoonshine.com

Old Vermont
1 3/4 oz. gin (Gertsen recommends a London-dry style)
1/2 oz. Grade B maple syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. fresh orange juice
2 dashes Urban Moonshine maple bitters
Ice cubes
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: cocktail

Shake all ingredients vigorously and strain into a chilled glass.

John Gertsen, Drink, Boston