Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
preparation flavored with botanical matter for a
bitter or bittersweet
flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as
patent medicine
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
s, but now are sold as
digestifs, sometimes with
herbal properties, and as
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...
flavorings.
Since cocktails often contain sour and sweet flavors, bitters are used to engage another
primary taste and thereby balance out the drink and make it more complex, giving it a more complete flavor profile.
Ingredients
The botanical ingredients used historically in preparing bitters have consisted of aromatic herbs, bark, roots, and/or fruit for their flavor and medicinal properties. Some of the more common ingredients are
cascarilla,
cassia (Chinese cinnamon),
gentian,
orange peel, and
cinchona bark
Jesuit's bark, also known as cinchona bark, Peruvian bark or China bark, is a former remedy for malaria, as the bark contains quinine used to treat the disease. The bark of several species of the genus ''Cinchona'', family Rubiaceae indigenous ...
.
Most bitters contain both water and
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
, the latter of which functions as a
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
for botanical extracts as well as a preservative. The alcoholic strength of bitters varies widely across brands and styles.
History
The origins of bitters go back to the ancient Egyptians, who may have infused medicinal herbs in jars of wine. This practice was further developed during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, when the availability of distilled alcohol coincided with a renaissance in
pharmacognosy
Pharmacognosy is the study of medicinal plants and other natural substances as sources of drugs. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of dru ...
, which made possible more-concentrated herbal bitters and tonic preparations. Many of the brands and styles of digestive bitters today reflect herbal stomachic and tonic preparations whose roots are claimed to be traceable back to
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
-era pharmacopoeia and traditions.
By the nineteenth century, the British practice of adding herbal bitters (used as preventive medicines) to
Canary wine had become immensely popular in the former American colonies. By 1806, American publications referenced the popularity of a new preparation, termed a ''cocktail'', which was described as a combination of "a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters."
Of the commercial aromatic bitters that would emerge from this period, perhaps the best known is
Angostura bitters. In spite of its name, the preparation contains no medicinal bark from the
angostura
Angostura may refer to:
Places
Mexico
* Angostura, Sinaloa, a city in north-west Mexico
** Angostura Municipality, Sinaloa, a municipality in Sinaloa, Mexico
* Puerto de la Angostura, Coahuila, site of the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista between Amer ...
tree; instead, it is named after the town of Angostura, present-day
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about in width, is the si ...
, in Venezuela. Eventually the factory was moved from Bolivar to Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1875. German physician
Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert had compounded a cure for sea sickness and stomach maladies, among other medicinal uses. Siegert subsequently formed the
House of Angostura to sell the bitters to sailors.
Another renowned aromatic bitters with nineteenth-century roots is
Peychaud's Bitters, originally developed by apothecary
Antoine Amédée Peychaud in
. It is most commonly associated with the
Sazerac cocktail.
A popular style of bitters that emerged from the period is
orange bitters, the flavor of which ranges from dryly aromatic to fruity, and which is most commonly made from the rinds of
Seville oranges and spices. Orange bitters are commonly called for in older cocktail recipes. An early recipe for such bitters is in ''
The English and Australian Cookery Book'': "Make your own bitters as follows, and we can vouch for their superiority. One ounce and a half of gentian-root, one ounce and a half of lemon-peel, one ounce and a half of orange-peel. Steep these ingredients for about a month in a quart of sherry, and then strain and bottle for use. Bitters are a fine stomachic, but they must be used with caution."
Bitters prepared from the tree bark containing the antimalarial
quinine
Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to '' Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...
occasionally were included in historical cocktail recipes. It masked the medicine's intensely bitter flavor. Trace quantities of quinine are still included as a flavoring in
tonic water
Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive ...
, which is used today mostly in drinks with
gin.
Pioneering mixologist
Jerry Thomas was largely responsible for an increase in the popularity of bitters in the United States when he released ''How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant's Companion'' in 1862.
[William Grimes]
The Bartender Who Started It All
''New York Times'', October 31, 2007.
Digestive bitters
Digestive bitters are typically consumed in many European and South American countries either
neat
Neat may refer to:
* Neat (bartending), a single, unmixed liquor served in a rocks glass
* Neat, an old term for horned oxen
* Neat Records, a British record label
* Neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (NEAT), a genetic algorithm (GA) for th ...
or
on the rocks at the end of a meal. Many, including popular Italian-style
amaros and German-style
Kräuterlikörs, are often used in cocktails as well.
Some notable examples of modern digestive bitters include:
*
Alomo Bitters
Alomo Bitters is a herbal based alcoholic drink produced in Ghana by Kasapreko. It is popular not only in Ghana but also in Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast South Africa and Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊� ...
(Ghana, Nigeria)
*
Amaro Averna
Amaro Averna is an Italian liqueur in the Amaro category produced in Caltanissetta, Sicily. It is named after its inventor, Salvatore Averna, who invented the recipe in 1868. This drink is produced on the Island of Sicily and is considered a t ...
(Caltanissetta, Italy)
*
Amaro Lucano (Pisticci, Italy)
*
Amaro Montenegro
Amaro Montenegro is a traditional amaro distilled in Bologna, Italy. It is made from a secret blend of 40 botanicals including vanilla, orange peels and eucalyptus. The amaro was first produced by Stanislao Cobianchi in 1885 and was originally ...
(Bologna, Italy)
*
Amaro Ramazzotti (Asti, Italy)
*
Amaro Sibilla
Amaro Sibilla is an Italian liqueur in the Amaro category. It is produced by the Varnelli S.p.A., a distillery in Pievebovigliana, in the Province of Macerata from the Marche region of central north eastern Italy.
It was created in 1868 by th ...
(Marche, Italy)
*
Aperol
Aperol is an Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant orange hue. Its name comes from ''apero'', an Italian slang word for apéritif (''aperitivo'').
History
Aperol was original ...
(Padova, Italy)
*
Balsam (Eastern Europe)
*
Becherovka (Czech Republic)
*
Beerenburg
Beerenburg ( West Frisian: ''Bearenburch'') is a Dutch drink, made by adding herbs to jenever, with about 30% alcohol.
The original Beerenburg was made in the early 18th century by the Amsterdam spice merchant ''Hendrik Beerenburg'', to whom it o ...
(Netherlands)
*
Blutwurz (Bavaria)
*
Braulio (Valtellina, Italy)
*
Calisaya (United States)
*
Campari (Novara-Milan, Italy)
*
Cynar (Padova-Milan, Italy)
*
Fernet-Branca
Fernet-Branca () is an Italian brand of fernet, a style of '' amaro'' or bitters. It was formulated in Milan in 1845, and is manufactured there by Fratelli Branca Distillerie.
History
Fernet-Branca was formulated in Milan in 1845 by a self- ...
(Milan, Italy)
*
Fernet Stock
Fernet Stock is a herbal bitters made in Plzeň- Božkov, Czech Republic. It is flavoured with approximately 14 herbs, imported from the Mediterranean and the Alps. It is also available in a sweeter form as Fernet Stock Citrus. The original Fer ...
(Italy-Czech Republic)
*
Gammel Dansk (Denmark)
*
Gran Classico Bitter (Switzerland)
*
Jägermeister
( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...
(Germany)
*
Jeppson's Malört
Jeppson's Malört is a brand of bäsk liquor, extremely low in thujone, introduced in the 1930s, and long produced by Chicago's Carl Jeppson Company. In 2018, as its last employee was retiring, the brand was sold to CH Distillery of Chicago's P ...
(United States)
*
Killepitsch (Düsseldorf, Germany)
*
Kuemmerling
Kuemmerling is the brandname of a type of Kräuterlikör (herb liqueur) from Germany, belonging to the group of Halbbitter (semi bitters).
This 35% by volume alcohol is a type of bitters. It has been in production since 1963 in Bodenheim, near Mai ...
(Germany)
*
Pelinkovac
Pelinkovac is a bitter liqueur based on wormwood ( Croatian and Slovenian: ''pelen'' or ''pelin''), popular in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria as well as in Slovenia, where it is known as pelinkov ...
(
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
)
*
Quinquina
Quinquina is an aromatised wine, a variety of apéritif. Traditionally quinquinas contain cinchona bark, which provides quinine. Quinine was used in treating malaria.
Americano is considered either a subclass of quinquina, or a separate varie ...
(France – originally from South America)
*
Rabarbaro Zucca (Milan, Italy)
*
Ratzeputz (Germany)
*
Riga Black Balsam (Latvia)
*
St. Vitus
Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...
(Germany)
*
Schierker Feuerstein
Schierker Feuerstein is a German herbal liqueur, a half-bitters at a strength of 35% alcohol by volume ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof), originally produced in the village of Schierke, located in the Upper Harz region of Saxony-Anhalt, German ...
(Germany)
*
Schwartzhog
Hardenberg Wilthen AG is a distillery in Nörten-Hardenberg and Wilthen, Germany. It produces Korn and a number of other liquors. The company ranks as Germany's second largest liquor producer.
History
Hardenberg Wilthen has been owned and manage ...
(Germany)
*
Sirop de Picon (France)
*
Suze (France)
*
Tubi 60 (Israel)
*
Underberg
Underberg is a digestif bitter produced at Rheinberg in Germany by Underberg AG. It is made from aromatic herbs from 43 countries that undergo inspections and are formulated based on a secret recipe of the Underberg family, whose members are p ...
(Germany)
*
Unicum (Hungary)
*
Wódka Żołądkowa Gorzka
Wódka Żołądkowa Gorzka ( ) − colloquially shortened to Żołądkowa Gorzka or Żołądkowa − is a herbal vodka from Poland, and the leading brand of Polmos-Lublin/Stock Polska since 1950.
The name translating as "bitter stomach vodka", ...
(Poland)
*
Wurzelpeter
Wurzelpeter is a Kräuterlikör-type liqueur produced in Germany. It is flavoured with a variety of herbs, bark, and roots: its name references the latter (''Wurzel'' in the German language).
History
Production was started in 1935 in Berlin-Mit ...
(Germany)
Cocktail bitters
Cocktail bitters are used for flavoring cocktails in drops or dashes. In the United States, many cocktail bitters are classified as alcoholic non-beverage products (''non-beverage'' meaning not consumed like a typical beverage). As alcoholic non-beverage products, they are often available from retailers who do not sell liquor, such as supermarkets in many USA states.
Some notable examples of cocktail bitters include:
*
Angostura bitters – originally from
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
in 1830, currently from
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*
Boker's Bitters – called for in many cocktails in Jerry Thomas' drink guide,
and essential to the
Martinez cocktail
*
Meinhard's Bitters
Meinhard's Bitters was created and manufactured by Dr. Teodoro Meinhard, a German-born resident of Venezuela, and the founder of Meinhard & Company. The full and exact name of Meinhard's Bitters is subject to some historical and legal question, a ...
– a now-defunct bitter with Venezuelan origins
*
Peychaud's Bitters – originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but now produced in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
See also
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{Commons category, Bitters