The tippling world is awash in a cocktail renaissance, with fancy cocktail bars springing up left and right, usually staffed by bearded bartenders that would not look out of place in a 1920s speakeasy.
While your intrepid liquor reporter would welcome a revival of the 1920s fashions like flapper dresses and jazz music, for the moment at least, we will have to make do with fancy cocktails.
No fancy cocktail would be complete without a dash of bitters, a widely misunderstood ingredient. The origin of the word cocktail goes back to the early 1800s, describing a new tipple comprised of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters.
For those not entirely clear on exactly what bitters refers to, read on for enlightenment. The history of bitters goes all the way back to ancient Egypt, where medicinal herbs were infused in clay jars of wine.
However, bitters did not really take off until distilled alcohol became readily available in the Middle Ages, when it was discovered that alcohol made an excellent solvent for extracting and concentrating botanical essences.
While bitters were traditionally used as a cure-all tonic for every malady from indigestion to constipation, they did not truly find their niche until pioneering bartenders started using bitters to flavour cocktails.
Perhaps the most famous brand is Angostura Bitters, named for the Venezuelan city of Angostura, now known as Bolívar City. Angostura Bitters were invented as a cure for seasickness, and were prescribed to sailors on extended voyages.
As Angostura Bitters made their way on merchant vessels to England and North America, it was not long before the queasy sailors began to enjoy a few drops of bitters in their rum rations, which soon evolved to increasingly complex concoctions in the barrooms and taverns of port cities.
Modern bartenders reach for bitters the same way a gourmet chef reaches for bottles in a spice rack, and the portions are close to the same. Bitters are often added to cocktails with an eyedropper, as any more than a drop would be excessive.
While Angostura Bitters are still popular after two centuries, the beardo hipsters in today’s cocktail bars are equally likely to be serving locally produced craft bitters, sometimes even made from scratch in the back room of the bar.
Your humble narrator has amassed a collection of craft bitters, with assorted flavours and aromatics containing every botanical influence under the sun, with the one unifying factor being the overwhelming bitterness.
The process of making bitters is quite simple, generally starting with a neutral spirit such as vodka, then infusing herbs, spices, barks, rinds, and dried fruits in a jar for several weeks. The result is then strained and filtered for clarity, and generally bottled in 50-100mL bottles.
The Sazerac is perhaps the most famous cocktail to use bitters, made from rye whiskey, sugar, bitters, and just a dash of absinthe.
If dancing with the green fairy is not your thing, stick to the Old Fashioned, made from whiskey (usually bourbon), simple syrup, bitters, and a dash of soda water. You may remember the Old Fashioned as the drink of choice for stylish mobsters in Prohibition-era movies, and it has remained popular to the present day.
While cocktail bitters are concentrated enough to be only used a drop or two at a time, several European countries produce digestive bitters, generally consumed in tiny glasses after a meal.
A few common examples of digestive bitters include Jägermeister from Germany, or Campari from Italy. These bitters are commonly served after a large meal to aid digestion, and served neat or over ice.
However, due to their strong flavours, digestive bitters have also found their way into cocktail recipes. Your humble narrator was recently on one of those Internet dates at an Italian restaurant, and knocked back a Negroni cocktail or two before my date arrived. Made from equal parts Gin, Campari, and Sweet Vermouth, the Negroni cocktail was invented in a caffè in Florence back in 1919, and quickly spread throughout Italy and around the world.
While the craftier incarnations of cocktail bitters are available at fancy booze merchants or artisanal markets, the mass-produced bitters such as Angostura and Peychaud’s can be found at your local supermarket.
Whatever your taste, ask your favorite bartender for a fancy cocktail suggestions and you will be exposed to different bitters in no time!
