It's Time to Take our Bitters: A NY Cocktail Club Meeting

A few weeks ago I tasted Peychaud's bitters in seltzer water, and I finally understood something important to making great cocktails... It is not okay to toss whatever aromatic bitters are on my shelf into cocktails that call for a specific formula, like the Sazerac. The semi-sweet, anise-laced flavor of Peychaud's makes it the perfect complement to the absinthe (or Herbsaint) used in this classic New-Orleans born cocktail. And, likewise, the choice of bitters for many other drink recipes is specific and intentional.

Dale DeGroff says it well in the Essential Cocktail with an ingredient note attached to his recipe for the Adonis, "This recipe calls for Gary Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6, which is definitely not Angostura bitters... Bitters of any type impart strong flavor from little volume, and the different varieties are not at all interchangeable."

I tasted Peychaud's along with several other varieties at "Make Your Own Cocktail Bitters,"a fabulous class at the Brooklyn Brainery taught by Sarah Lohman, historic gastronomer and author of the blog Four Pounds Flour.
Bitters Ad ca. 1867
Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division

Bitters have a long history, even in the US. In colonial times, most folks would start their day by taking their bitters in a mix of whiskey (2 oz), water, and sugar. By the 19th century bitters were being sold as patent medicines (think snake oil... "patent" meaning you don't have to disclose the ingredients that you claim have therapeutic effects). In the same century, bitters were making their way behind bars and into cocktail culture. The Sazerac came about in 1859 and Jerry Thomas published his famous bartender's guide in 1862.

The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 implemented regulations that put many bitters (and patent medicine) manufacturers out of business. Prohibition caused additional problems, as you can imagine. Today, following the resurgence of a robust American cocktail culture, there are hundreds of bitters on the market.

It's actually pretty exciting if you're a cocktail geek like me. As Ms. Lohman says, bitters add another flavor component for your palate to enjoy, and more flavors equal more taste experience. Who doesn't want more tast experience!?

So, as the host of the March meeting of the NY Cocktail Club, I decided it was time for the Clubettes and I to take our bitters.

To keep the meeting manageable I focused only on non-potable bitters--the concentrated infusions of herbs, spices, or fruit with a bittering agent in a high-proof spirit. Bittering agents can include gentian or orris root, wormwood, wild cherry bark, or citrus pith. Non-potable bitters are too concentrated to be sipped alone or used in large quantities for one drink and thus are sold in small quantities. Potable bitters, however, like Campari or Cynar, can be sipped or added to cocktails in much larger amounts (ounces vs. dashes). Although also noteworthy, we would need an entire meeting and subsequent blog to begin to explore them.

Non-potable bitters are categorized as aromatic, citrus, or herbal. I've heard more than one person describe aromatic bitters as Christmas-like, and indeed many have the cinnamon and clove qualities we associate with the holiday season. The aromatic varieties also have a strong bitter character whereas citrus and herbal bitters tend to lead with their defining ingredient (e.g., orange, lime, celery, sage, etc.).

We explored the three categories through an afternoon of tastings, mini-cocktails and food pairings. Although it is important to stick to recipes for some cocktails, others are more flexible. I hope this inspires you to do some experimenting on your own, whether it's trying two different aromatics in your Old Fashioned or hosting a bitters party where you ask friends to bring a bottle for tastings and mixing.

Whatever it is, don't stop at cocktails. You can use bitters in soups, stews, oatmeal, desserts, homemade sodas, in your coffee, on top of ice cream... you can use them in nearly everything!


Left: Angostura cookbook cover ca. 1920s

Notes about the bitters tasting: Each tasting pour included 2 dashes (6-8 drops) of bitters in about 1 oz of seltzer. To reduce trips to the sink, place bowls of fresh water with a dipping glass or ladle on the table as well as empty dumping bowls. Tasters can pour out their samples, rinse their glasses, and pour out the rinsing water without leaving the table.

 Before guests arrived I placed four shot glasses at each seat and spread snacks in little dishes out across the tables, including sugar-spiced almonds, salt-and-pepper potato chips, and cocktail shortbreads (leftover from last week).

Exploration of Aromatic Bitters

We tasted four aromatics and mixed mini cocktails for comparison of two. Angostura is the longest continuously-produced bitter available and it seems to have a default spot in even the most sparse home bars. The Fee Brothers have been around for quite awhile as well while the fellas at The Bitter Truth have only been in the bitters-making game since 2006, but doing quite well with award-winning concoctions. 

Bitters Tasting


Cocktail Comparison: Old Fashioned

  • 1 teaspoon agave syrup
  • 3 dashes bitters (one version with Angostura; one with Fee's Old Fashioned)
  • 2 orange slices
  • 2 Maraschino cherries (I like Tillen Farms)
  • 2 ounces bourbon

  • Muddle one orange slice and one cherry with agave and bitters in a glass. Remove the fruit husks. Add ice and bourbon and stir. Garnish with the remaining orange slice and cherry.
  • For the comparison, mix two cocktails: one with Angostura and one with Fee Brother's Old Fashioned Bitters. Or, make two minicocktails by splitting the recipe and using small (2.5-3 oz) deep glasses.

 The Clubette majority favored the cocktail made with Angostura because it seemed more complex. But, we decided that it wasn't that one was better, they were just different. Both aromatics from The Bitter Truth, to my palate, were more bitter-forward, and I could taste this difference when subsequently making an Old Fashioned with their Old Time Aromatic Bitters. I do look forward to trying them out in other cocktails.


Food Pairing

Squash and Bitters Soup by Ian Knauer 
(If you read the article do not believe that it doesn't matter what kind of bitters you put in your cocktail! But you should absolutely believe that this soup goes well with an Old Fashioned.)


Exploration of Citrus and Herbal Bitters

For this round, we tasted citrus and then a range of herbal bitters before choosing a bitter for a tailored dry martini. Three more 21st century bitter makers were added to the bar: Scrappy's, Bittermens, and Dr. Adam Elmegirab. During the tasting, the citrus bitters offered a crisp, clean taste that we felt we could drink alone in seltzer throughout the summer. The herbal bitters varied, and we all liked most depending on individual tastes, though none of us enjoyed the Fee Brother's plum bitters.


Bitters Tastings



Cocktail: Dry (Mini) Martini with Choice of Bitters


  • 1 oz dry gin
  • .5 oz Dolin white vermouth
  • 1-2 dashes bitters of choice (the original recipe calls for orange)
  • Olive or lemon twist for garnish

  • Combine gin, vermouth and bitters in a stirring glass with 2-3 cubes of ice and stir until chilled. 
  • Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with olive or lemon.

The original recipe for the dry martini uses orange bitters and is garnished with an olive. Clubette's were able to choose among any of the bitters we tasted with a garnish of olive or lemon. Here are some of the top combinations:
  • Dandelion and burdock bitters with an olive
  • Sage bitters with an olive
  • Celery bitters with a twist
  • Habanero bitters with a twist


Food Pairing

Acadian red fish (from Mermaid's Garden CSF) baked with garlic and rosemary and topped with goat cheese and sun-dried tomato tapenade (which I borrowed from another fish recipe by Joey Altman).

Note about the tapenade: it makes a fantastic addition to any party table and can be spread on bread, crackers or chips and paired with goat, cream or blue cheeses. 

A variety of pickled beets were also placed on the table.

Bitters on Top: A Different Flavor Experience

When stirred into a cocktail, each sip includes the flavor that bitters impart, but when a cocktail is topped with bitters the flavor is intermittent. I think this effect, as exemplified by the pisco sour, is quite delightful. By happy coincidence, this round paired perfectly with HA's magnificent lime macaroons. 


Cocktail Topped with Bitters: Pisco Sour


  • 1.5 Bar Sol Pisco
  • .5 oz simple syrup (more if you have a sweet tooth)
  • .75 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1 oz egg white
  • Angostura bitters (several drops)


  • Combine pisco, simple syrup, lemon, egg white and two ice cubes in a shaker. Shake (and shake and shake and shake) until the ice cubes have melted and you no longer hear them clinking. (This process emulsifies the egg white and creates the lovely foam upon which the bitters will sit.) 
  • Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with a few drops of bitters and swirl bitters with a tooth pick. 

Food Pairing

Macaroons in Chocolate Shells (HA made these fabulous treats by starting with this recipe from Martha Stewart. She used strawberries instead of raspberries for half and lime for the other half. The lime zest was a wonderful with the coconut.)

Flavoring Dessert with Bitters

We ended our exploration of bitters with Black and White Russians flavored with a choice of bitters. My menu originally included a pairing with bitters-topped ice cream, but none of us wanted another dessert after the superb macaroons.


Bitters Tasting


Cocktail: Black or White Russian with Choice of Bitters


1 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua
Optional: splash of half-and-half (or more to taste)
Bitters


Food Pairing

More macaroons!

Resources

Angostura: Timeline
Cocktail 101: All about Bitters, Part 1 and Part 2 by Michael Dietsch
Drink Like a Colonial American Day by Sarah Lohman
Pink Lemonade: Empinken Your Drinkin' with Bitters by Matthew Rowley

(P.S. If you're doubtful of the power of bitters, make your favorite bitters-inclusive cocktail with and without and taste for comparison.)

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