In recent years, the cocktail industry has really boomed. It’s all about house infused small batch liquors, fresh herbs, and gourmet bitters. The end result is a high quality amazing drink menu but sometimes it looks like it was written in a foreign language. Seriously! Even those who work within the restaurant
industry have to run a Google search every now and then. There is often a lot of question marks surrounding one specific ingredient; bitters. There are tons of different kinds and it’s incredible with just a few drops can do to the flavor of a cocktail (and actually how much they can help with an upset stomach) so I thought today, we could dive into the topic a little bit.
What exactly are bitters, anyway?
Basically, bitters are extracts made from natural plant ingredients including bark, flowers, roots, and berries to name a few. You don’t need a lot of them to enhance the flavor of your drink, in fact, you typically just want a couple of dashes. But, to be fair, with all of the new flavors and varieties out there – including barbeque – the amount you should use will vary.
Speaking of variety, there are literally hundreds of types of bitters. It would be too difficult to go over all of them so I’ll just stick with three popular types.
- Aromatic: Aromoatic bitters don’t really have any one dominant flavor profile. They’re made up of a ton of different types of botanicals. You have probably heard of Angostura bitters as this is the go-to pick for the classic Manhattan.
- Orange: I really should just say “citrus” because there is pretty much a bitters version of any type of citrus you can think of. Orange is probably the most popular though.
- Herbal: As the category says, herbal bitters definitely have a dominant herbal flavor. They range in flavor depending, of course, on the ingredients but can be spicy, sweet, earthy, etc.
Okay, so there is your very brief overview of bitters in general. But before I let you go, we should probably talk a little about Amari too.
“Amaro” means “bitter” in Italian (that is the ONLY Italian word I know – unless pizza counts?). Amari (the plural form of amaro) are a type of bitters meant to be enjoyed on its own or as a mixer. Campari is a very popular amaro, for example.
Bitters are in no way a new phenomenon. They were extremely popular in the 1800s before losing their luster during Prohibition. I for one am happy about the relatively recent (I’m talking the last decade or so) resurgence. The next time you’re out for a night on the town, read through the nearest cocktail menu and go for a drink that contains bitters. I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll have a lot of options.
Rebecca McKinney
I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.
So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!
Eat well & travel often,
Becky McKinney
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