Tom Bullock was a nationally revered bartender in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A collection of his recipes is printed in 173 Pre-Prohibition Cocktails. There are several mentions of “celery bitters” and even with the recent interest in bitters, there are no archived or recreated recipes that have surfaced. I’m probably an odd soul for even being curious enough to embark on such an experiment but I have a feeling they’d be a nice addition to a gin gimlet.
I’ve had some success in my own recent aromatic bitters concoctions (birch and sassafras), so I started my own celery tincture hoping to have a clean, light result. Of course, I have no idea what the original tasted like but I assume it’s based on either celery seed, celery root, or celery stalk. Meanwhile, I’ve put together a batch of lavender bitters and hope to incorporate them into some springtime cocktails.