 | Bitters: Encyclopedia - Bitters
Bitters
Bitters are an alcoholic herbal preparation with a bitter flavor. Bitters, once numerous, were formerly manufactured as patent medicines, but the few remaining varieties are principally used as apertifs, or in cocktails.
They are not to be confused with bitter, a type of British ale.
Bitters still available today include:
- Angostura™ Bitters
- Peychaud's™ Bitters
- Orange bitters
- Peach bitters
- Mint bitters
- Gammel Dansk
- Fernet Branca
- Jägermeister
- Amer Picon
- Campari
Other brands of bitters have also included:
- Calisaya (cinchona or quinine)
- Boonekamp's
- Boker's
- Hostetter's
- West Indies
Both Angostura Bitters and Peychaud Bitters are compounds whose chief taste comes from gentian, a bitter herb.
Angostura Bitters was first compounded in Venezuela in 1824 by a German physician, who intended it as a remedy for stomach maladies. It was exported to England and to Trinidad, where it came to be used in a number of cocktails following its medicinal use by the British Navy in Pink Gin. Angostura and similar gentian bitters preparations are still of some value to settle a mild case of nausea or an upset stomach. Their use in cocktails, however, accounts for the vast majority of the sales. Angostura was named for the town of Angostura in Venezuela. It contains no angostura bark, a medicinal bark which is named after the same town. Angostura Bitters is the most widely distributed bar item in the world.
Peychaud's Bitters is associated with New Orleans, Louisiana, and can be difficult to find elsewhere. It, too, is a gentian based bitters, with a subtly different and sweeter taste than the Angostura brand. Peychaud's Bitters is associated with the Sazerac cocktail.
Orange bitters are made from the rinds of unripe oranges. They are called for in some older cocktail recipes.
Medicinal quantities of quinine were occasionally used in old cocktail recipes. Quinine is still found in tonic water, now found mostly in drinks with gin.
Other related archives1824, Angostura, Angostura™ Bitters, Campari, England, Fernet Branca, Gammel Dansk, Jägermeister, Mint, New Orleans, Louisiana, Orange, Peach, Pink Gin, Sazerac, Trinidad, Venezuela, bitter, cinchona, cocktails, flavor, gentian, gin, herbal, nausea, patent medicines, quinine, stomach, tonic water
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Bitters", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
