The Godfather of red vermouths. Mouthful of spicy Christmas pudding followed by waves of plums, cherries, cloves, vanilla and finally cinnamon.
Combining the same classic ingredients for nearly 200 years, Angostura bitters are a key ingredient in many famous cocktails, often paired with gin and rum to great effect. Despite the name, its flavour is not bitter at all, with the strong aromatic flavour, powerful with gentian and spices. Many cocktails simply wouldn’t be the same without a dash or two of Angostura bitters and it’s the complex herbaceous nature of the product which allows it to offer additional depth and dimension to cocktails.
Go back in time to the downright dirty history of the American speakeasy and you’ll find Angostura Orange bitters in a huge number of different drinks. Rising to prominence during prohibition many classic cocktails simplyaren’t complete without a shot of Angostura Orange. A classic example of bitters, one of the few that survived US Prohibition, flavours of orange and geranium are most prominent followed by spicy cardamom and coriander. Shake into your Martini, your Manhattan or even a classic Champagne cocktail.
With its history in apothecary Peychaud’s Bitters has a strong authentic flavour which was originally dispensed as a medicinal tonic. Of course, the signature cocktail with Peychaud’s is the Sazerac but the subtle yet spicy flavour makes it a great choice for a wide range of cocktails from Old Fashioned to Whiskey Sours and the overriding flavour in each sip is aromatic cloves. Known as a great all-rounder Peychaud’s can be mixed with virtually anything to create a complex flavour profile.