The mere mention of bitters conjures up images of faces twisted and grimacing in pain. An old Jägermeister ad comes to mind showing a guy sporting a big mustache and a snarl. Originally, bitters were created as medicines to help cure a range of maladies, most commonly nausea, but these days, the name by itself more often evokes that ailment than cures it.
In 1862, in How To Mix Drinks, author Jerry Thomas defined a cocktail as a “mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters.” And contrary to popular belief, not all bitters are dark, muddy-looking liquids that get added to a cocktail with an eyedropper. Most bitters are a proprietary combination of infused or distilled roots, herbs, spices, and sometimes fruits—so they can be thought of as aromatic herbal liqueurs—added to cocktails or enjoyed by themselves.
Many bitters and amaros (Italian for “bitter”) have a certain amount of sweetness, balanced by bitterness. As Brad Thomas Parsons, author of Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, aptly put it, “Bitters refers not to a specific flavor, but rather to the category of aromatic solutions made with bittering agents,” further stating that one of the biggest misconceptions about bitters is the name itself.
In cocktails, most mixologists agree that small amounts of these concoctions (when used correctly) add a layer and depth of flavor vital to the overall balance of the cocktail. And many of the first known cocktails prominently feature the mysterious elixirs. Just imagine if the Sazerac, pisco sour, Planter’s punch, Manhattan, and my favorite, the Negroni, were never created. How different would our lives (and cocktail history!) be without these great drinks?
Today, awareness of bitters is on the rise, with countless specialty boutique versions hitting the market and house-made tinctures being the litmus test for a serious cocktail program. Non–house-made brands to look into include Fee Brothers, The Bitter Truth, Bittercube, Regans’, and Stirrings.
When not making a faint appearance in cocktails, bitters and amaros are used classically as either an aperitif or digestif before or after a meal. Alcohol content typically becomes the deciding factor: Those with lower levels (e.g., Aperol and Campari) are typically used as aperitifs, and higher-proof iterations (e.g., fernet and Averna) are reserved for the end of the meal. The aperitifs are generally served cold or on the rocks with a splash of soda or water, and the digestifs should be served at room temp and sipped slowly…or not.
A former sommelier at The French Laundry, Hoel serves as a senior wine advisor for Soutirage, a Napa Valley wine merchant and advisory firm.
