3 Classic Bitters For Your Home Bar

Image by Roman Odintsov

Whether flipping through recipes from a cocktail book or browsing the multitude of ingredients at a local spirits shop, chances are you have felt overwhelmed with the options available to you. Building your mixology library can take some time, and it’s best to start simple. Here are 3 types of cocktail bitters that will work for classic and modern recipes alike. We recommend starting with at least one of these classic cocktail bitters as well as purchasing one “fun” flavor (chocolate, cardamom, lavender, etc) to plug and play with your recipes.

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1) ANGOSTURA BITTERS

The most widely used brand of bitters in the world, Angostura Aromatic bitters is recognized by its oversized label (an accident often called the “luckiest error in liquor branding history”) and yellow cap. Hailing from Trinidad & Tobago, the secret formula has been produced since the 19th century. This bottle is a staple in classic recipes like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and on top of egg white sour cocktails. This bottle of herbs and spices is used for medicinal purposes, most often for stomach ailments.

2) PEYCHAUD’S BITTERS

A must-have for New Orleans cocktails like the Sazerac and the Vieux Carre, this bitters formula was developed by pharmacist Antoine Amedée Peychaud in 1838 using a family recipe. Like all classic bitters, it was originally created for medicinal purposes. Peychaud’s bitters are lighter and a bit sweeter compared to the deeper flavors of Angostura Bitters.

3) ORANGE BITTERS

Another bottle that began as a medicinal tonic, the history of who made orange bitters first is not quite clear. We know that these bitters were commonly used by 1862, appearing in many a recipe from the first published cocktail recipes book “How to Mix Drinks” by Jerry Thomas. The flavor mostly comes from the dried zest of orange peels and often includes ingredients like cardamom, gentian, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, and ginger. Orange bitters are well known for Pre-Prohibition era cocktails like the Bijou, the Bronx, and most famously, the Martini (gin, dry vermouth, and orange bitters).