Bitters\u2014the 40ish% ABV<\/a>, cocktail staple, packaged in paper-wrapped hot sauce bottles<\/a>, sold to humans of all ages on Amazon<\/a>\u2014are strange. They\u2019re also popular. NA beer<\/a>-like growth forecasts<\/a> , a longstanding presence in many of the world\u2019s most drunk cocktails<\/a>, and the alarmingly positive reaction this article<\/a> (still) receives whenever we share it on Instagram<\/a> all surely suggest that bitters have escaped the micro-tattooed clutch of Mr. & Mrs. Mixologist and returned to the mainstream.<\/p>\n This is a good thing. Bitters make cocktails\u2014like martinis, Manhattans, and rum punch\u2014better. They keep stomachs (somewhat) functional by way of transforming soda water into something drinkable. And these benefits aren\u2019t trapped behind some insurmountable price tag: A four ounce bottle of bitters, which can last you months, costs less than a Chipotle burrito, sans guac.<\/p>\n So grab a bottle. Or three. After all, we\u2019re living at a time where there are more producers, types, and flavors of bitters than there\u2019s been since Prohibition. That\u2019s something to a) celebrate and b) best enjoy with a working knowledge of bitters\u2019 most fundamental ingredients, history, brands, and people. To address the former: We recommend Feegan\u2019s. For the latter, see the below glossary. Cheers.<\/p>\n Five:<\/strong> The number of living people who know the exact recipe of Angostura\u2019s industry-leading aromatic bitters. With its products accounting for an estimated 90% of the global bitters sales, Angostura\u2019s recipe secrecy\u2014and sheer market domination\u2014are Wonka-life. So is the company\u2019s miracle-laced history.<\/p>\n For example, Angostura\u2019s iconic, over-sized, paper label is the accidental byproduct of brotherly miscommunication. Per Vinepair<\/a>, when second generation owners\u2014brothers Carlos, Luis, and Alfredo Seigert\u2014rebranded Angosutra in the early 20th century, one brother designed the bottle while another worked on the label. Naturally, the brothers never agreed upon\u2014nor even discussed\u2014the sizing of either component. The fated size discrepancy didn\u2019t stop the brothers from presenting their ill-fitting rebrand to a panel of experts\u2014one of which recommended they keep the paper too big for the bottle. Which, of course, they did.<\/p>\n 1806:<\/strong> The year the editor of The Balance and Columbian Repository<\/em> penned the world\u2019s first definition of the word cocktail<\/em><\/a> as \u201ca stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.\u201d Our takeaway: Erika Kotite is<\/a> right\u2014your gin martini<\/a> becomes a proper cocktail when it\u2019s got a few dashes of orange bitters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Celery:<\/strong> Per James Beard Award winning-author and world renowned bitters scholar Brad Thomas Parsons<\/a>, celery bitters are among the category\u2019s best offerings<\/a>. Particularly adept at accentuating the savory notes of martinis or Bloody Marys, veggie-versions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unorthodox bitters concepts. BTP also endorses bitters with leading flavors like cucumber, umami, and Xocolatl mole.<\/p>\n Christmas:<\/strong> What a shot of Angostura<\/a> tastes like, say the thousands of Wisconsinites who drink this stuff by the ounce. Why Wisconsin? Well, you can attribute much of the state\u2019s affinity for shooting Ango to Tom Nelsen, the late owner of Washington Island tavern, Nelsen\u2019s Hall & Bitters Club.<\/p>\n When Prohibition started in 1920, Tom didn\u2019t want to shutter his bar\u2014so he found a paper-wrapped loophole. Since Angostura Bitters are legally classified as a medicinal product (which is the same reason they\u2019re sold to all ages at Walmart today), Tom obtained a pharmacist\u2019s license, and, in turn, began prescribing hefty pours of bitters to the droves of stomach-sick \u201cpatients\u201d descending upon the bar. This regulatory ingenuity not only kept the bar alive through the dry crusade, but it transformed Nelsen\u2019s Hall into an ongoing tourist attraction\u2014a place where Washington Island visitors can stop by, crush an ounce of Angostura, and receive a thumb-stamped membership card to the bar\u2019s Bitters Club.<\/p>\n And if you can’t make it to a bar on a remote island off the coast of Wisconsin but still want to shoot some bitters in public, there\u2019s always Best Intentions<\/a>\u2014a Chicago bar slinging enough Angostura to warrant having it on tap.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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