aromatic bitters

Also known as “bitters”. Aromatic bitters is a category for the defining ingredient of the “Cocktail”: a concentrated bitter tincture of herbs, spices, fruit, and spirits, with origins in 18th Century patent medicine. Deemed too bitter to be consumed by themselves, they are normally applied to any beverage in dashes or small fractions of an ounce or milliliter. Though containing alcohol up to 80 proof, manufacture was allowed without restriction even during Prohibition because the bitterness was such that the Internal Revenue Service—which administered compliance with the National Prohibition Act—termed it “non-potable alcohol” i.e., too bitter to consume straight. The products in this category begin with Angostura Bitters—the lone surviving example from the era and by far the most popular cocktail ingredient of all time. Alongside it are historically important products Peychaud’s (extant), Boker’s (extinct), Abbott’s (extinct), and various immitations and recreations of the same. Also included are a smattering of novel bitters with their own characters that are still close enough to Angostura in performance to qualify as legitimate substitutions. Your mileage may vary, except with Angostura Bitters, which remains the infallible standard.