San Francisco Bitters Company Peruvian Bitters

Proprietary aromatic bitters from the San Francisco Bitters Company ostensibly recreating the pre-Prohibition Peruvian Bitters of the same name. Key flavoring: quinine. Peruvian Bitters began in 1871 was a specific patent medicine produced in San Francisco by Wilmerding-Kellogg Company. It was named for “Peruvian Bark”—cinchona/quinquina—from which quinine is extracted, and labeled “Cinchona Rubra”—a quinine tonic. (“Conquers Death-Dealing Malaria” the marketing claims.) The product appears to have passed through two or three owners and survived a few years into the 20th Century before disappearing. Today, “peruvian bitters” is generic for contemporary aromatic bitters featuring South American botanicals—particularly cinchona—and designed for use in drinks like the Pisco Sour.