Coloring for Campari

[Modernist]

I'm working on making a bitter liqueur in the vein of campari, but I've hit a major roadblock in terms of coloring it.

The only two options I seem to have are either artificial coloring (which won't work for us) or carmine, which is out as my partner is a vegetarian and is opposed.

We've tried working with beet extract and coloring, but it turns brown pretty fast, and what's a campari/aperol liqueur that isn't red?

I really don't want to abandon the project, as it tastes great. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Silk City Distillers]

Why not change the color? If someone is so wedded to the color, they'll be wedded to a brand. Why not go off an a tangent and use something different? It even works to tie into your marketing, no bugs, no fake stuff. Are you drinking beetle juice? I followed the Starbucks backlash on carmine closely, there aren't many good alternatives. I think someone is trying to use some fancy genetic engineering to create an organism to create the carmine red in a tank. But who knows if it will be listed as natural, and is GMO any better for you? Approved colorings are limited.

[Sorghumrunner]

And there is a pretty wide range of Amaro liqueurs with other colors, many are just caramel brown. Suze uses yellow five for that nasty yellow color they have.

There are a couple of red Absinthe's on the market, Atelier Vie and others, I wonder how they're getting that red color.

I'm working on making a bitter liqueur in the vein of campari, but I've hit a major roadblock in terms of coloring it.

The only two options I seem to have are either artificial coloring (which won't work for us) or carmine, which is out as my partner is a vegetarian and is opposed.

We've tried working with beet extract and coloring, but it turns brown pretty fast, and what's a campari/aperol liqueur that isn't red?

I really don't want to abandon the project, as it tastes great. Does anyone have any ideas?

[JustAndy]

Try using hibiscus, or stabilizing the color with citric acid.

[Modernist]

James,

Actually, I already have an amaro with a lovely golden hue. The Campari-esque (I really need a name for it) is a specific style of Italian bitter liqueur that is traditionally red (there are a lot of lthem, most just don't make it to the US). Also, this liqueur ends up an unpleasant greenish brown color, which looks gross!

Sorghumrunner, thanks for the absinthe tip, I'll look into those.

And Andy, citric acid doesn't work (tried it) but I haven't tried hibiscus yet. Good idea!