LIBATIONS
Bitter Sweet
Spice up the night - and your drink - with a flavorful and exotic splash of bitters.
BY MARK SPIVAK
The booming cocktail culture has re-discovered and reinvented bitters.
Non-potable bitters began as patent medicines, the most notable example being Angostura. This concoction of roots, bark and herbs was perfected in 1824 by a German doctor stationed in Angostura, Venezuela, and was originally intended to suppress fevers and nausea. It found its most noble function as the foundation and coloring for Pink Gin.
Shortly afterward, Peychaud’s Bitters was invented by a native of Haiti who had settled in New Orleans. Created from a base of gentian, it became the foundation for the Sazerac cocktail, and was frequently used in Manhattans, Old Fashioneds and Whiskey Sours. Prior to Prohibition, in fact, it was hard to find a cocktail that did not contain bitters.
In their quest to bring back the classic cocktails, modern mixologists have stocked their bars with a range of exotic, small-batch bitters. The Fee Brothers of Rochester, New York, make a complete product line (Peach, Mint, Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange and Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters). The Bitter Truth, a German company best known for Celery, Lemon and Orange bitters, has recently agreed to distribute the products of Bittermens, an artisanal brand owned by Avery and Janet Glasser; as a result, Bittermens Grapefruit and Xocolatl Mole will soon be available on the open market. Regan’s Orange Bitters, made by cocktail guru Gary Regan, also is coming into general distribution.
Potable bitters have become the aperitif of choice in the United States, and have inspired bartenders in the country’s leading markets. It all began with Campari, which was invented by Gaspare Campari, a
cutting-edge Milan mixologist of the 1860s. The closely guarded formula is a main ingredient of both the Negroni and Americano, and is frequently enjoyed with club soda.
While Americans tend to think of Amaro as a brand name, it’s actually an entire category of Italian bitters in a range of styles and flavors. Averna, first concocted by Salvatore Averna in 1868, has been described as sweet and thick, with a slight herbal bitterness. Amaro Montenegro is a specialty of Bologna, produced from 40 different herbs and popular as an after coffee drink. In fact, there are several dozen regional variations of Amaro in Italy, including Punt e Mes, a popular dark brown vermouth with a bitter sweetness.
Antonio Benedetto Carpano is generally credited for inventing vermouth in 1786, using the technique of infusing herbs and spices into wine. Today, the same parent company that makes Punt e Mes also produces Carpano Antica Formula, sometimes called the world’s best red vermouth. Sweeter and more full-bodied than Punt e Mes, Carpano Antica has flavors of vanilla, orange rind, dried apricot and baking spices. While it can be used to make a terrific Negroni, purists prefer to drink it on the rocks.
