Bitters are fundamental to cocktails and bartending. In fact, they were integral to the first definition of a cocktail–any combination of spirit, water, sugar and bitters. But during Prohibition, production stopped on most bitters brands and as a result, their variety plummeted. As America moved from drinking complex cocktails to beer and vodka on the rocks, the craft of bartending suffered and bitters fell even further out of use, to the point where a common bartenders joke went, “What lasts longer, a bottle of Angostura bitters or your marriage?”
But what are bitters? Essentially they are a high-proof spirit that is macerated with a variety of herbs and spices. Usually bitters run around 35-40% alcohol, though they are so concentrated and powerful, you will rarely see more than 2-3 dashes in a cocktail. They add complexity and basically make a cocktail more interesting than it would be otherwise.
The most common types of bitters are aromatic bitters, such as Angostura Bitters. You’ve probably seen this brown bottle and oversized white paper label collecting dust on the back bar of your favorite dive. Aromatic bitters add a bitter depth to any drink they’re used in and are a critical ingredient to many cocktails.
The next most common and important type of bitters is orange bitters. Used in a host of old school cocktails, orange bitters are great in a Dry Gin Martini or even a Manhattan. There are a number of brands making orange bitters these days, but I prefer Regan’s No. 6 Orange Bitters.
The last famous type of bitters is Peychaud’s bitters. A required ingredient in the Sazerac, Peychaud’s is a New Orleans staple that has a distinctive bright red color and lighter, sweet, anise flavor.
Angostura bitters are widely available and most good liquor stores will now carry an orange bitters and Peychaud’s. But there are also an ever-growing number of bitters brands making more unusual flavors, from grapefruit and lemon to rhubarb and chocolate. A number of makers are even rediscovering recipes for bitters that were common in the 19th century and bringing them back to life. If you’re interested in a wider selection of bitters, look at the products from Bittermens, The Bitter Truth and Fee Brothers, though there seem to be more bitters makers coming out with interesting products every month.
Here’s a great, classic New Orleans cocktail that includes both Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters:
Vieux Carré
- 1 ounce rye whiskey
- 1 ounce Cognac
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 1 teaspoon Bénédictine
- 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Mix all ingredients in a double Old Fashioned glass over ice; stir.
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I’ve used Orange bitters in a Manhattan, and occasional drop in a martini, I didn’t notice a big difference in the drink
good info, but I don’t see myself adding Bitters to my stocked bar
all the right words, thueocd your arm at the right times, got you halfway home (the bar near his place, at closing) and then to his place. He got you to leave (ostensibly after sex wrestling ? C’mon, Kate, just tell us you did him), and got you to go away for good after insisting you see his FB page.This is step by step from one of those How to Get Women websites, right? And the most important step, for those kind of guys, is getting you to leave, after the boinking.Maybe its penance for being so mean to those other loser guys .Cheers!
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WOW i clicked on the link for cocktails, there’s a lot of drinks bitters go with…Interesting
LOL, I used to bartend and I NEVER USED the bitters…
Bitters makes cocktails sing….
I too don’t want to pay a lot for a drink, but I won’t drink bad cocktails from Bartenders who don’t know what they are doing.The clpaes I’ve mentioned previously may be a couple of bucks more per drink, but what you are getting, is a properly made drink by a professional Bartender. I will personally drink a little less to ensure that I drink qualitycocktails, and I think if you give that angle ashot, you will no longer be disappointed.
Love bitters – esp orange bitters.
a dash or two of orange bitters does wonders for fruit salad- try it!
Ill have an Americana (Cocktail) – Bitters, Champagne, Sugar, Tennessee Whiskey
Have you ever made your own?
Everclear
I would like to put the records agsritht once and for, hopefully. The drink, chapman, was created for my mum. She is a teetotaller. Dad Alamutu, doyen of the Nigerian hotel hospitality industry, created it for her because she always looked different with a glass of fanta when they attende the zillions of cocktail parties because of his profession. The Chapman, being a cocktail, looked more intersting. We made it at home all the time while we were growing up I am over 50yrs old now! Well, the recipe has evolved over the years with people adding their own twists. The blackcurrant is a 1980 s addition. It’s all good. Your pictures are brilliant and I’m sure that your recipe tastes wonderful too. The bottled ones never really got it right. Enjoy!!By the way, I’m areal foodie too. Great site.
Bitters are the salt and pepper of the cocktail
On the back shelf unopened maybe
Bitters are a subconscious background flavor in a drink – You have to have them.
Bitters are the most overlooked ingredient in cocktails next to ice. Any cocktail enthusiast should know this. “spirit.sugar.water.BITTERS”
I wil trust all of you and going to try and incorporate bitters into my drinks
so. You have the right to wrihsop anyway you wish. And I have to right to ask you to realize that the religion you wrihsop may not be the right one. If you dont wish to change, tell me and I wont bring it up again unless you are dear to me and I really would like to see you in heaven after we die. The problem is that too many religions promise that you will get to heaven if you do things their way but have nothing to back that up. Mine at least lays down ways to do it. Ignoring the sins of others if they will ignore your sins isnt a way that ANY religion promises, to my knowledge.