UPDATE: CONTEST HAS COME TO AN END. WINNER WILL BE CONTACTED VIA EMAIL

Good news everyone! For the next week you can enter to win your very own set of Hella Bitters!

Aren’t you excited? I sure am.

The winner will receive one 5oz bottle each of both the aromatic and the citrus flavors of Hella Bitter! If you’ve never tried them, you’re in for a real treat. Please enter by commenting on this post and following the contest rules listed at the bottom of the page.

I visited Hella Bitter at their space in Long Island City’s Bad Ass Organic the other day, and I have to tell you, not only do they know their stuff and turn out some seriously delicious craft bitters, but they’re also a really great bunch of guys.

Meet the men behind Hella Bitter, from left to right, Jomaree Pinkard, Tobin Ludwig, & Eduardo Simeon:

From their website: “Hella Bitter is an all-natural craft bitters company committed to being the premium alternative to mass-produced and often artificially flavored competitors. What began in the early 2000s as a hobby with roots in the Bay area, turned serious in 2011 when Hella Bitter was founded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With a modest Kickstarter.com fundraising project, pools of sweat, and a big dream, Hella Bitter went from being a weekend project, to being a serious pursuit of the delicious…

Citrus is the bitters that started it all, and we have refined a recipe that consistently outshines other orange bitters on the market. It is slightly more concentrated, and more noticeably citrusy than other bitters in its class. This is because our small-batch approach enables us to carefully regulate the different flavors and prevent any one from overpowering the others.

Perhaps the rockstar of the bunch, our Aromatic consists of more intriguing ingredients and stronger flavors to make a bitters that can stand up to the biggest bourbon whiskeys, but is still delicate enough to give subtle support to a gin cocktail. It gets its color from the beet juice that we use to help sweeten it.”

With the recipes for their current flavors perfected, they were excited to tell me about a few new ideas they have on the horizon. Right now they’re working to develop a kit for bitters enthusiasts to make their own bitters at home! Their kit will include a custom machined funnel and strainer set, along with two flavor blends and four tincture bottles to make your very own citrus and aromatic bitters. You’ll be able to make traditional bitters with their ready-to-use blends, or you could put your own twist on things by experimenting with other spirits or adding your own ingredients. Right now they’re working out the fine print, but soon they’ll be launching a kickstarted campaign to help get the project moving. I, for one, can’t wait.

Along with cocktail recipes, their website includes ideas for ribs, roast chicken, even whipped cream flavored with their bitters. I decided to try out a recipe they gave me during my visit for one of my favorite cocktails, the classic Old Fashioned. Their recipe uses both flavors of Hella Bitter, working together in perfect harmony. It may have had something to do with the limited-edition small-batch bourbon I received as a birthday gift, but holy wow. This is one left me speechless.

No matter what you dream up to use them, both flavors of their bitters are phenomenal. Don’t just take it from me though, enter to win below and try them for yourself!

Contest rules:

Entries will be accepted until, and contest will end on, Thursday June 5th, at 6PM EST.

To enter, please follow these links and “like” both Brooklyn Homemaker and Hella Bitter on facebook. Then come back and leave the comment “Gimme Hella!” on this post, and tell me the first drink you’ll make with a shiny new set of Hella Bitters.

Only one comment per entrant, please.  Sorry, but immediate family is excluded. The winning bitters can only be shipped within the contiguous United States, so entrants must live or have a mailing address within the lower 48. Winner will be chosen, using a random number generator, from the total number of comments when the contest comes to a close. Winner will be contacted via email for shipping information.