One of the questions I most often hear from my patrons refers to the little glass vials and droppers that adorn the center of the bar. When they ask just what is in those vials, I usually respond by giving a brief overview of our many types of bitters. Then, inevitably, another question follows, “What in the hell are bitters?”
Bitters are bottles of high-proof alcohol that have been infused with a blend of flavors, sometimes with a single note being the main focus. If the process just stopped there, though, it would basically be a tincture. The main difference between a tincture and a bitter is that the latter also uses a bittering agent to add complexity to the blend. Bittering agents can consist of a number of different botanicals, the most popular being gentian root, cassia, quinine (found in cinchona bark), and citrus peels.
Bitters are potent. While most cocktail recipes deal in ounces or half ounces of spirits and mixers, bitters are measured in dashes. Seeing as a dash is only 1/8 of a teaspoon, it has to have a fairly strong flavor not to be lost amongst the other ingredients of a drink. For this reason, bitters should be aged for a minimum of six weeks in order to impart as much flavor as possible into the base spirit. While bartenders and chefs have recognized for many years the ability of bitters to add depth and flavor to their creations, the original intentions of these concoctions were much more noble.
There is one brand of bitters that has dominated the field for a very long time—Angostura bitters. They are so popular that some restaurants keep only Angostura behind the bar, and they refer to them as simply “the bitters” with no mention of the brand name—as if they are the only type that exists. There is some reason for this, as Angostura bitters are some of the most delicious all-purpose bitters around, and they have been in circulation for almost two hundred years now.
They were invented in Angostura, Venezuela at the beginning of the 19th century by the German Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert. It was supposed to be a health tonic, and, indeed, it was found to have a wonderful ability to settle an upset stomach. For that reason, and the pleasant flavor it can add to any beverage, it became wildly popular with the local people. In 1830, Dr. Siegert built a distillery solely for the purpose of mass producing his bitters. In 1875 the distillery was moved from Angostura, Venezeula to Port of Spain, Trinidad, but the name stuck.
In another example of the medicinal history of bitters, while Britain occupied India in the early 19th century, soldiers were at constant risk, not from battle, but from malaria. It was discovered that the bittering agent quinine worked as an antimalarial when ingested. The only problem was that, just as you might expect, quinine was extremely bitter and was not easy to keep down. The soldiers, though, discovered that it didn’t taste quite so bad when mixed with the gin that they were rationed by the British government. Thus the first gin and tonics were born. Still to this day, tonic water is bittered with quinine, though the tonic water most are familiar with now is much sweeter and far removed from the powerful quinine tonics those soldiers and early bartenders classically used.
Though the first intended use of bitters may have been one rooted in medicine, they have found their lasting home in the hands of bartenders all over the world. If those soldiers in India had not been forced to imbibe quinine to survive, the world may never have known the joys of a delicious gin and tonic on a hot day. If Dr. Siegert had never mass produced his stomach-settling health tonic out of Angostura, Venezuela, the Rob Roy, the Manhattan, the Old Fashioned, the Pisco Sour, and many other beloved drinks may never have come to be. And even Peychaud’s bitters, which were first marketed as a creole health tonic when it was nothing more than snake oil, is the unique flavor responsible for one of New Orleans’ signature cocktails, the Sazerac.
So, with the seasons finally turning to fall, I will close by suggesting a cocktail that will go well in the light-jacket weather to come. The Manhattan is a surprisingly simple drink that almost everyone has heard of, but not enough still order, and it features Angostura bitters in a starring role. All one needs to do is combine two ounces of rye whiskey with one ounce of sweet vermouth and a few heavy dashes of Angostura in a glass. The mixture should be stirred with ice till chilled, then served up in a martini glass with a cherry. The spiciness of the rye pairs well with the notes of tamarind and clove in the bitters and can do wonders to warm you up as the temperature drops into the fifties and below. 
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This article was originally printed in The Local Voice #213 (published September 25, 2014).
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