Orange bitters is a form of

bitters A bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an Alcoholic drink, alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a Bitterness (taste), bitter or bittersweet Flavoring, flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters ...

, a

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

flavoring made from such ingredients as the peels of Seville oranges,

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

caraway seed Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

, and burnt sugar in an alcohol base. Orange bitters, which are not to be confused with the standard Angostura aromatic bitters, are currently enjoying a resurgence among cocktail enthusiasts. The widely-known

House of Angostura The House of Angostura (), also known as Angostura Limited, is a Trinidad and Tobago company famous for the production of Angostura bitters, invented by the company's founder. The company is also a distiller and is the major producer of rum in T ...

is one of the producers of orange bitters. For many years, it was difficult to find orange bitters in the United States and elsewhere. Because of this, some cocktail recipes that traditionally contained orange bitters may now exclude that ingredient. Renowned mixologist Gary Regan created Regan's Orange Bitters (stylized and trademarked as Regans') in the 1990s. Regans' is bottled and sold by the

Sazerac Company Sazerac Company, Inc. is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by William ...

, whose chief executive officer, Mark Brown, had worked with Regan to create a modern version of these bitters. Since 2006, the Bitter Truth in Germany has produced all-natural orange bitters, and there are now a number of different brands on the market. Different orange bitters are sometimes mixed to hit the desired note. For example, a "Feegan's", often used in a

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, consists of an equal-parts mix of Fee Bros West India Orange Bitters and Regans' Orange Bitters No. 6. This is done to balance out the candy-like sweetness of Fee's and the heavy

note of Regans'. Orange bitters can also be made at home, allowing one to create new flavor profiles that are not available anywhere else. The process of making orange bitters takes several days. While orange bitters are typically alcoholic, there are several brands of non-alcoholic bitters available. Drinks whose recipes can include orange bitters include the

Old Fashioned Old-fashioned, an idiom meaning something not modern, or may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * Old Fashioned (film), ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 201 ...

, the

dry martini The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive, a lemon twist, or both. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. A common variation, the vodka martini, uses vodka ...

, and the

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

References

Spices Bitters Trade secrets {{mixed-drink-stub