Bitters are the seasonings of the cocktail world. They can make an Old Fashioned pop with new life, or mellow out an overly bright margarita. With just a few dashes, spicy bitters can add fiery heat to an otherwise frozen Negroni or some tropical vibes to an otherwise mundane Moscow Mule.
No matter how they are incorporated into a drink, bitters are an essential part of the cocktail experience, both for the professionals and the at-home mixologists. Choosing which bitters to buy, however, can be a little daunting given the sheer number of brands and flavors available.
To help you make sure your maximizing your investment into bitters, we highlighted five of the most essential bitter styles to purchase.
Aromatic bitters are the original cocktail bitters, and they are what comes mind for most people when they think of traditional bitters. Aromatic bitters were originally created as a type of medicinal tincture, and the roots, seeds, barks and pods in those original recipes were selected more for their believed health benefits than their flavors. As a result, these elixirs were, well, really bitter, and could only be palatable in the smallest of doses.
Today, many of these original recipes still exist, and the list of ingredients remain closely guarded secrets. There are also a wave of newly crafted aromatic bitters popping up, which are just as complexly flavored as the originals, but often gentler in their bitterness.
Since no two aromatic bitters recipes are the same, it is worth trying out a few and experimenting a bit before picking which bitter to dash into your drinks.
Outside of aromatic bitters, citrus bitters are perhaps one of the most widely used bitters at bars across the country. Or at least one specific type of citrus: orange.
Orange bitters range the gamut from tasting like whole, ripe and juicy orange to orange marmalade, bitter orange peel, fresh orange zest or fragrant orange blossom. They are versatile and complement most base spirits, including gin, whiskey, rum, tequila and even Scotch whisky.
In addition to orange, there are a handful of other citrus flavors fresh from the grove, including lime, grapefruit, yuzu and an assortment of lemon varietals.
Floral bitters are aromatically wonderful, but they can be overpowering for some consumer’s palates. While one consumer might be magically transported to a rolling meadow of wild flowers after sipping on drink dashed with lavender bitters, another might find themselves wondering if the bartender added an ounce of Palmolive scented hand soap into the shaker tin. So, while garden-inspired flavors like rosemary, violet, basil and dandelion might we intoxicatingly aromatic, use them gingerly.
Similar to aromatic bitters, spice bitters are created using an assortment of barks, roots and seeds. Unlike classic aromatic bitters, which tend to skew towards balancing bitter notes, spice bitters have more of a warming characteristic, and come both blends and individual flavors, like cinnamon, allspice, ginger and cardamom. Spice bitters are a great way to add some fall or winter seasonality to your drinks without having to start a recipe from scratch.
Spicy bitters get their heat from capsaicin, a chemical compound familiar to those who ever bit into a hot pepper and soon founds themselves with a tingling mouth and sweaty forehead. The type of pepper – or even blend of peppers – used to create spicy bitters changes from brand to brand, but habanero, jalapeno, chipotle and cayenne are a few of the more commonly used varieties. When it comes to dosing out spicy bitters, a little really does go a long way, so dash lightly and taste the drink before serving to make sure the spice is just right.