What Are Bitters?
An Indispensable Cocktail Ingredient You’ve Never Used
For most, bitters is nothing more than an off-beat ingredient mentioned in old books or movies. If you fall into that category, you're missing out!
So what is it? To give a textbook definition, bitters is a distillation of aromatic herbs, barks, roots and plants, steeped in alcohol. Bitters has a high alcohol content – roughly 45% - but is used in small amounts to flavor cocktails or food, and has a distinctly bitter or bittersweet flavor. (Think of vanilla extract. It’s also very high in alcohol, but not something you’d want to drink straight.)
Bitter Medicine
Bitters was originally produced in the early 1800’s as a patent medicine, intended as an digestive aid. It was recommended before eating to improve the appetite and to help digest the meal, or afterwards to help settle the stomach. And in fact, gentian containing products such as Angostura Bitters do help ease stomach pain and nausea – use a few drops of bitters in water or club soda.
By the mid 1800’s, however, bartenders had discovered bitters, and it was literally an indispensable element in the making of a cocktail. In fact, in 1848, John Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms included the following definition:
Cocktail – a stimulating beverage made of brandy, gin, or other liquor, mixed with bitters, sugar, and very little water
In fact, Harry Craddock stated in his 1933 book, Savoy Cocktail Book, that the Lone Tree Cocktail was invented around the turn of the century specifically to prove that it was possible to make a cocktail without bitters!
It’s hard to be sure exactly why bitters went from being an integral part of the cocktail to becoming a side note, but it’s likely that the 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act played a part. The law required that a product making health claims had to provide some sort of proof of those claims. With that, many manufacturers simply disappeared. Prohibition struck another blow, and while cocktails came roaring back after its repeal, bitters largely faded away.
Angostura Bitters
Today, most recipes calling for bitters seem to refer to Angostura Bitters, originally developed as a stomach medicine by a German doctor living in Venezuela. Angostura Bitters is actually the single most widely distributed bar item in the world. But it’s not the only variety of bitters available.
Another classic variety is Peychaud’s Bitters, first created in New Orleans in the 1830’s. Peychaud’s is a necessity in the Sazerac, a cocktail whose history is almost as colorful as that of the city itself. With out-of-the-ordinary ingredients such as Peychaud’s and absinthe, the Sazerac is not a cocktail you’re likely to find at your corner tavern.
Orange bitters also was once considered an essential bar item, and appears frequently in pre-Prohibition cocktail recipes. Traditionalists include it in the requirements for a perfect martini. The flavor of orange bitters is very different from the more common Angostura, so substitution isn’t a very good option.
Angostura Bitters is generally easy to find, often as easy as looking for the spices and seasonings in your local supermarket. Peychaud’s is more of a challenge outside of the New Orleans area, but like many items, a Google search will show you a number of sites where it can be ordered. Orange bitters is also easily found online if you’re unable to find it locally. Fee Brothers offers orange bitters, as well as peach, mint, and lemon.
Ready to give it a whirl? Try a Manhattan or a Trinidad Rum Punch!
