What actually are ‘bitters’ and how to use them to your advantage.

If you’re anything like us, you grew up drinking the great Aussie classic Lemon, Lime and Bitters. That orange-hued, sweet and bitter drink that wiggled its way into our suburban childhood hearts. But why did this very humble drink have such a hold on our adolescence? It’s not the lemon, nor is it the lime – but the third more polarising ingredient: bitters. It’s the addition of the bitters that not only amplifies the flavours of the other ingredients, but also seasons the drink.

In the same way, bartenders have been using bitters to season cocktails for generations. A drop of orange bitters in a Gin Martini elevates the citrusy, bright flavours of the gin. A Sazerac is simply not the same without generous splashings of a Creole-styled bitters like Peychaud’s. And what would a Trinidad Sour be without its shot (yes, a whole shot) of Angostura? Before we get into the varieties of bitters and their individual importance and use, let’s take a closer look at the science and origin of bitters.

Click image to shop

Why would we want anything to taste bitter?

According to Mark Bitterman (check the name!), author of Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters & Amari, bitter-tasting foods are dangerous, but also essential for health. In nature, bitterness in plants is evidence of deadly toxins, but they can also be a marker of healthy nutrients. “Our intrigue with bitter flavours is part of an exhilarating dance we play with food and drink; the enterprise of deriving nutrition and stimulation from a bountiful but occasionally treacherous natural world,” Mark explains. Poetic, huh? But for real – our very natural repulsion to bitter flavours derives from the fact that our ancestors were likely poisoned by bitter plants. Yeesh. So, when we consume something bitter, our brain sends out some pretty sharp warning signals (is this thing safe to consume?!) and we‘ve kind of evolved to reject these interesting and intense flavours through our sensitive palates. BUT, there are definite cases where bitter equals good – especially when it comes to “seasoning” our cocktails.

Despite the name, bitters aren’t designed to make your drink taste bitter, but rather enhance the other flavours and provide stunning aromatics. If you tried to drink a sip of bitters on its own, it wouldn’t be too pleasant, but in small amounts they give cocktails an extraordinary complexity and depth of flavour. Hence why many bartenders refer to them as the “salt and pepper” of cocktails.

What are bitters made from?

Bitters is made up of a neutral-based spirit like Everclear (a very high-proof alcohol, with up to 95% ABV), water, flavouring botanicals and a bittering agent. There are tonnes of bitter compounds found in nature, all with fun scientific names – alkaloids, catechins, flavonoids, glucosinolates, isoflavones, isothiocyanates, phenols, saponins, tannins and terpenes are all produced by plants. And guess what? They are all bitter. Some of the more popular bittering agents are gentian, quassia or cinchona bark and wormwood, but there are heaps of interesting bittering agents out there (and by heaps, we mean HEAPS). Also in the mix are your flavouring ingredients, which can be anything from herbs and spices to dried fruit and peels. To make bitters, the preferred mix of botanicals is chopped up real small, then steeped in the base spirit for days, weeks or months until those flavours are absorbed – a process known as ‘tincturing’. During tincturing, the bitters will take on its characteristic flavours, be that aromatic, citrus, herbal-floral, fruity, spicy or even nutty.

Where did bitters come from?

Bitters have been around since 7000 BC. Our nomadic ancestors would ferment rice, grapes and berries to create wild, bitter brews sweetened with honey to make them more palatable (creating the first amaro). Fast-forward a few thousand years or so, and like many of our alcoholic inventions, bitters became a very crude and inefficient medicine, specifically as a really bad way to cure the bubonic plague (yikes). It wasn’t until the 1800s that people started to ingest it because they liked the taste – gaining favour among the early Temperance movement (which promoted abstinence from alcohol) due to its low alcohol content. This, and the fact that it was super affordable, meant bitters became a bit of a hit, with hundreds of smaller producers emerging on shelves. Unfortunately, this success didn’t last – prohibition was the final nail in the coffin, causing many smaller bitters companies to fold – leaving us with the big names of bitters to battle it out (spoiler alert, Angostura came out on top).

What is Angostura Bitters?

We’ve covered the essentials and need-to-knows of bitters, now let's have a closer look at some of the more popular products. Starting with the king of bitters, Angostura – a household name for good reason, and a staple of bartenders and chefs alike. With spicy notes of cloves and cinnamon, it’s delicious, consistent and makes for a great ingredient in your drinks. Dr Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a surgeon general of Simón Bolívar’s army, first invented Angostura in 1824 as a tummy-ache aid for the troops. The popularity of this product spread pretty rapidly among the troopers and eventually all over the world. Soon there were hundreds of different types of bitters, from just as many producers. However, Angostura solidified its place on top by filing injunctions against smaller brands. Being one of the few brands to survive prohibition didn’t hurt either. Today, it’s still a bartending favourite, and critical to cocktails like the Old Fashioned.

Click image to shop

What is Peychaud’s Bitters?

Of similar fame, we have the Creole-style bitters, Peychaud’s. Just as delicious as Angostura, Peychaud’s iconic anise flavour and watery consistency make it slightly less versatile than other bitter products, but still a crucial cocktail ingredient. Pharmacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud inherited his famous bitter recipe from his Haitian father and began producing and selling it in New Orleans in 1830. The success of Peychaud’s is tied to the popularity of the Sazerac cocktail, which really heroes the ingredient. So much so, the Sazerac company eventually purchased Peychaud’s and still owns it today.

Fee Brothers Orange Bitters with glasses

Click image to shop

What are orange bitters?

Talk to any bartender about the essential bitters for your home bar and you’ll find near-universal agreement on Angostura, Peychaud’s and orange bitters. This third category gets its zesty flavours from dried orange peels, alongside spices that might include cinnamon, cloves, ginger and coriander. The best reason to get your hands on some? They work genuine wonders in a Gin Martini. We’re big fans of both Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters and Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6 (delicious in a Negroni too, mind you).

What other types of bitters are there?

Bitters truly come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll find everything from celery bitters to chocolate bitters, with a huge amount of variety in between. Here’s some of our favourites:

How much alcohol is there in bitters?

It varies, but they’re generally bottled at around 35 to 45% alcohol. That might sound high, but since most recipes call for just a dash or drop of bitters, the amount of alcohol they lend to the finished cocktail is extremely low.

How to use bitters in cocktails and how much is a dash of bitters?

Bitters are used as a finisher for drinks. The final seasoning. They can be used to enhance even the most basic of drinks – like a Gin and Tonic – or to add further complexity to elaborate cocktails.

In the same way a food recipe might call for ‘a pinch of salt’, cocktail recipes often specify a ‘dash’ or ‘drop’ of bitters. It might seem annoyingly unspecific, but they really do mean a dash. Shake the bottle once over the drink to release just a teeny amount (AKA a dash) – equal to roughly 1/8th of a teaspoon. A little goes a long way, so taste, then add more if needed. Generally, bitters bottles have what’s called a ‘dasher top’ – a small spout that allows for single dashes of bitters to come out with each shake. Some might have a dropper top (similar to those used for eyedrops), with a single drop being roughly equivalent to a dash.

The best cocktails with bitters

As mentioned, bitters can be used to season cocktails like a sprinkle of salt on your eggs, but it can also be a defining characteristic of a drink. Here are a few of our favourite bitters-forward cocktails.

The Trinidad Sour calls for a full shot of Angostura, which is mixed with rye whiskey, sugar syrup and lemon juice. It won’t be to everyone's taste, but if you love bitter flavours, give it a go.
The Port of Spain cocktail has a very generous half-shot of Angostura mixed in, together with mezcal, sugar syrup and lime juice.
The Sazerac not only features the aniseed flavour of a Creole-style bitters like Peychaud’s, but also calls for a dash of aromatic bitters like Angostura.
The Vieux Carré is a bit like the Manhattan cocktail, but it mixes in a Creole-styled bitters like Peychard’s and a dash of Angostura as well.
The white variation of a Rob Roy uses a dash of Creole-style bitters for a little aniseed kick, while the traditional Roy Roy adds a couple of dashes of Angostura.
And, of course, Cara Devine’s Gin Sour with Celery Bitters uses a celery bitter (duh).

We generally like to use aromatic bitters in cocktails made with an oak-aged liquor (think whiskey or bourbon), citrus bitters in cocktails made with white spirits (like vodka or gin), and celery bitters in savoury cocktails made with vermouth or sherry.

Of course, this is just a short list of the many, many cocktails that feature bitters. Don’t be afraid to try new flavours or add a dash of flavoured bitters into your classic cocktails for truly exciting twist.