For as long as we have suffered, we have been mashing up whatever plants and seeds are to hand to attempt relief or cure. A happy by-product of thousands of years of medical experimentation is that we now have a dizzying range of tonics and tinctures with which to enhance our drinks, including potent and pungent cocktail bitters.
Many began life as complex herbal remedies taking bitter and bittersweet flavours from roots, herbs, berries, seeds, flowers and barks. Intense and often high in alcohol, just a few drops of bitters can really lift your cocktails. Treat them like you would seasoning in your cooking as they help bond the ingredients together but also add their own flavours. Overleaf we prescribe eight of the best.
Regans and Angostura
Regans’
Orange Bitters No. 6
Created by writer and bartender Gaz Regan because he couldn’t find orange bitters to suit his taste. Based on a recipe found in The Gentleman’s Companion: An Exotic Drinking Book with orange peel, cardamom, caraway, cloves and coriander. Orange bitters are a key component in many cocktail classics. Regans’ recipe offers an option which is spicy with less sweetness than many.
Prescribe for: Martinez
Bitter truth: An earlier version of the recipe was knocked back by the Tax and Trade Bureau because it was too tasty to be deemed ‘non-potable’.
Angostura
Aromatic Bitters
The most widely used and made to the same recipe since 1824 when it was created as a tonic for troops by Dr J.G.B. Siegert while he was serving as a surgeon general in Simón Bolívar’s army in Venezuela. An infusion of gentian root and herbs on a strong rum base. There is a long history of using gentian as a tonic and anti-fever remedy.
Prescribe for: Old-fashioned
Bitter truth: One ingredient notable by its absence is the medicinal plant Angostura bark. Angostura takes its name from the town in Venezuela where it was invented.
Bitter Truth and Bittermens
The Bitter Truth
Cucumber Bitters
Munich bartenders Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck launched the Bitter Truth range after struggling to find decent bitters in Germany and now produce 11 flavours. Cucumber is the newest, with flavour notes of fresh cucumber, rosemary and thyme. Works well with white spirits.
Prescribe for: Pimm’s Cup
Bitter truth: The criteria for the Bitter Truth’s choice of flavours were mainly provided by old cocktail recipes that could no longer be accurately mixed because the bitters were missing.
Bittermens
Orchard Street Celery Shrub
Not technically bitters but a briny cocktail flavouring made by duo Avery and Janet Glasser. Harks back to the popular colonial era shrub (vinegar-based refreshers) and also doffs its hat to a classic New York celery soda with flavours of celery, apples and vinegar. Works well with any traditionally savoury drinks and aquavit.
Prescribe for: Bloody Mary
Bitter truth: The drink is inspired by the experience of Eastern European immigrants to New York, and Orchard St. is the home of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
Fee Brothers Whisky and Chocolate bitters
Fee Brothers
Whisky Barrel-Aged Bitters
Once a year Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters are aged in freshly emptied oak whiskey barrels charred and soaked with aged whiskey. The result is woody and complex and the ageing process smoothes out some of the citrus and bitter flavours. A natural bedfellow for any whisky cocktail.
Prescribe for: Manhattan
Bitter truth: Fee Brothers has been around since 1864 and is now run by the fourth generation of the family.
Fee Brothers
Aztec Chocolate Bitters
Inspired by the ancient Aztec celebratory drink of cacao beans, peppers and spices. A hint of heat and spice but much lower ABV than most bitters at just 2.55%. Works well with dark spirits, milk and cream.
Prescribe for: White Russian
Bitter truth: Fee Brothers kept the business going during Prohibition by making altar wine and by sending representatives out to help people make small quantities of wine in their homes – as the law permitted.
- See more at: http://www.hotrumcow.co.uk/eight-cocktail-bitters-to-consider-for-your-h...
