The Bitter Truth

One of the peculiar traits that unite almost all serious cockticians is our somewhat overzealous adoration of bitters. A sure-fire way to instantly ingratiate yourself with a new bartender is to spark up a conversation about their collection of these splendid cocktail supplements, then let them nerd out for a while on the subject. Bitters are to the bar what herbs and spices are to the kitchen, and at one point in our history it was a rare drink that didn’t contain a couple of drops of some form of bitters or another. In more recent years their usage had all but disappeared from the modern bar, whittled down to the ubiquitous Angostura bitters; still a staple but nevertheless underused to a plaintive degree. But I’ve noticed that some long-overdue respect is beginning to once again be paid by some of the finer bars around town, and bitters are reclaiming their rightful place in the well.

Essentially a mixture of herbs and citrus dissolved in alcohol or glycerine, bitters range in flavour from piercingly bitter to the sweet side of bittersweet. Tragically, very few besides Angostura are readily available locally, so it will take some internet sourcing to stock your own bar with a decent selection. But once the experimentation begins, you will find it well worth the effort, I promise. Quite high in alcohol content – up to 45% – bitters were originally marketed as a medicinal agent, even today a few drops in a glass of soda are a tried and true bar remedy for settling a guest’s upset stomach. When sparingly immersed in a cocktail they have a distinct stimulating affect on the appetite, so they make a splendid ingredient for both apéritifs and digestifs.

When building your own collection of bitters the essential bottle is Peychaud’s, a mandatory ingredient in the Sazerac, the granddaddy of all cocktails. A lighter style of bitters, it has a pleasant spicy yet floral aroma. Orange bitters, made from the peels of young Seville oranges, should be next on your bar. They were formerly the most widely used of all bitters; believe it or not they’re actually an original ingredient in the first Martini recipe. Regan’s makes a splendid orange bitters, if you can find them. Fee Brothers out of New York has a magnificent selection of flavoured bitters (pictured above), including peach, lemon, grapefruit and my personal fave: whiskey barrel aged. I’m stoked on getting my hands on their new addition when it launches: rhubarb. I’ve already got a few interesting ideas to throw at that one.

The truth is really just this: bars are better with bitters. They work miracles towards building a well-balanced cocktail, and add a splash of old-school class to your drinks and to the evening. Drop a comment if you have any inspired bitters recipes or stories, I’d love to nerd out about them with you.

To your health…

Simon Ogden | Urban Diner