Kakuzo Cherry Bitter. Vodka-based red bitter with cherry, gentian, and grapefruit, fruity-tart, 20% ABV, 700 ml – from Berlin.
Kakuzo Cherry Bitter is a red bitter from Berlin: cherry, gentian, and grapefruit on carefully filtered, multi-distilled vodka – fruity-tart, warm cherry notes against spicy-wild gentian, 20% ABV, 700 ml. Not a sweet cherry liqueur, not a digestif, not a colored syrup – a deep-red, aperitivo-style bitter for tonic, spritz, and Negroni.
Cherry Bitter by Kakuzo is a bitter liqueur in the style of Italian aperitivo culture: bitter root, fruit, a touch of sweetness, red color, and a strength that makes it perfect for a spritz or long drink. The bitter component here is gentian, the fruit is cherry, and the tart grapefruit keeps the cherry from being too dessert-like. The base is unusual: Kakuzo uses vodka as the base for its bitter – the same smooth vodka used in their Tea Infused Vodka. Picture a late afternoon in the garden: a glass full of ice, 5 cl of bitter, topped with tonic, and two pickled sour cherries – red as soda, but herb, spicy, and sophisticated on the palate.
Fruity-tart: warm cherry against spicy-wild gentian, grapefruit providing a tart edge
The bitter tastes of cherry at first, warm and dark, then the gentian follows: spicy, wild, earthy, and bitter. The grapefruit adds a sharp edge on top. Kakuzo describes the result as fruity-tart, with cherry and gentian in balance and an impulsive character.
At 20% ABV, it is a liqueur and contains sugar; the manufacturer does not specify the sugar content. The underlying vodka remains subtle. If you are looking for a sweet cherry liqueur without the bitter root, this is not the right choice – the gentian is the core.
Bitter tonic with pickled sour cherries, bitter spritz with white wine – and the Negroni in red
On ice, as a Negroni, or as a cocktail base – that is how Kakuzo recommends the bitter. It is a liqueur with 20% ABV; it is only sold to persons aged 18 and over.
The Bitter Tonic: 5 cl of bitter in a long drink glass filled with ice, topped with 10 cl of tonic water, stirred, and garnished with pickled sour cherries. For the Bitter Spritz, pour 4 cl into a wine glass filled with ice, topped with dry white wine and soda to taste, with an orange zest. The Bitter Negroni: 3 cl bitter, 3.5 cl red vermouth, 3 cl gin – perhaps the Organic Dry Gin from the same brand – stirred with ice until cold, strained over a large ice cube, and garnished with an orange zest.
Store in a cool, dark place; keep the bottle well sealed after opening.
Our tip: Add the sour cherries to the glass along with a spoonful of their juice – the juice bridges the cherry and gentian, while the tonic keeps the bitterness in check.
From Berlin, inspired by the bar scene – a bitter that seeks the balance of Japanese cuisine
Kakuzo is a Berlin brand founded by Paul and Marc, two friends who have known their city's bars since their school days and have traveled extensively through Asia. They started in 2017 with a tea-infused vodka, developed in their own bathtub; the red bitter was added later, using the same vodka base. The manufacturer does not specify the distillery at any point.
The brand name honors Okakura Kakuzō, the Japanese scholar who explained Japanese tea culture to the West in his 1906 work "The Book of Tea." What Kakuzo adopts from him is the concept of balance: Japanese cuisine plays with contrasts – mild and sharp, cold and warm – and seeks the middle ground. In this bitter, the contrasts are cherry and gentian. The mythical creatures on the labels – fox spirit, tengu, dragon, koi – reflect the same focus on the Far East.
For aperitivo evenings, for Negroni fans who prefer something fruitier, and as a red bottle for the home bar
The Cherry Bitter is the bottle for anyone who loves a red spritz and wants cherry instead of orange in their glass for a change. It is the perfect tonic base for the garden, a building block for the Negroni in your home bar, and a great gift for hosts who prefer an aperitif over a digestif. Its yellow sibling is the Yuzu Gin Liqueur; you can find all four on our Kakuzo page and other liqueurs in the Liqueurs category. This bitter is not suitable for those looking for a sweet cherry liqueur for dessert – for that, the gentian is too prominent and the grapefruit too tart.
Cherry, gentian, and grapefruit on smooth vodka, fruity-tart, 20% ABV – the red bitter from Kakuzo in Berlin for the perfect bitter tonic, spritz, and Negroni with cherry.
