Angostura. Peychaud’s. Orange. This could be the extent of your bitters knowledge. In that case, you’re missing out.
Made of alcohol, a bittering agent like quinine, wormwood, or cassia, and any adjuncts for flavor on top — spiced, herbs, and fruit rinds — bitters are, as today’s guest explains, an essential requirement in every drink. Before Angostura and Peychaud’s hit the market in the 1820s, bitters only existed in the briefcases of salesmen, who peddled their products around, advertising a myriad of medical benefits. While bitters are no elixir for the fountain of youth, they do have the ability to change a cocktail’s identity with just a few dashes.
While we catalog flavors in our head when it comes to food, we seldom do the same for spirits. Once that skill is mastered, however, we start seeing bitters as seasoning. Cocktail crafting becomes a matter of deciding which bitters to use rather than deciding whether or not to use them. According to today’s guest, the only way to misuse bitters is to miss using them at all.
On today’s episode of the “Cocktail College” podcast,” host Tim McKirdy is joined by Sother Teague, beverage director at New York’s Amor y Amargo and Overthrow Hospitality; host of “The Speakeasy” podcast; and author of “I’m Just Here for the Drinks.” Today’s show is an ode to this complex category of ingredients, and a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about using them. Tune in for more.
