It wasn’t too long ago that the bitters world was dominated by Angostura, and your local liquor store was progressive if they carried Peychaud’s and Fee’s. These days, stalwarts like Angostura are joined on store shelves by Regan’s, The Bitter Truth and Bittermen’s, among others, which is good news for bartenders and home enthusiasts. One of the newer companies to produce an extensive lineup of bitters is Scrappy’s, which has found a home in many Pacific Northwest-area bars. Founded in 2008 by Seattle bartender Miles Thomas, Scrappy’s makes seven different bitters – lavender, lime, grapefruit, orange, chocolate, cardamom and celery...

It’s difficult to find a drink that bitters don’t make better. Their enhancing, tie-the-room-together qualities can take a cocktail from ordinary to extraordinary. But sprinkling them on top of vodka? Never occurred to us. Then again, vodka on the rocks isn’t a common beverage at Cocktail Enthusiast HQ. Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic vodka that’s garnered much appreciation since its fairly recent introduction to the U.S. market. And Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters is a small shop producing some very interesting bitters, including rhubarb, sriracha, black mission fig and meyer lemon. These two companies joined forces to create the very small batch...

Ardent drinkers know that a dash of bitters can transform a cocktail from mundane to magical. But what does a cocktail aficionado like yourself do when on the road – perhaps cooped up in a hotel room or tippling on the airplane? Having planned ahead, he simply opens his traveler’s pack of bitters. The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Traveler’s Set ($20) includes five of the company’s most popular bitters – Celery, Orange, Creole, Old Time Aromatic and Jerry Thomas’ Decanter Bitters in an easy to stow pack. And the small size of each makes them an airline-friendly addition to your carry-on...

The Pink Gin, as the name half implies and half does not—is a stout cocktail. Composed of just gin and bitters, it’s not for the faint of heart. Simply uttering the words “gin” and “bitters” tends to send novice drinkers running for the hills, but the Pink Gin marries the two ingredients into a synergistic concoction worth sampling. The Pink Gin was—according to Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails—a favorite of the British Navy.  Dash some bitters into your daily ration of gin and voila!  Happy sailors. Plymouth Gin is the way to go in this cocktail. Its velvety nature works wonderfully with...

I really can’t get enough of bitters, from tried and true stalwarts like Angostura, Peychaud’s and Regan’s Orange to newish offerings from The Bitter Truth.  Aside from using bitters to enhance my cocktails, I even consume bitters with a bit of club soda before or after meals to aid digestion.  So I was pretty excited when a package arrived from Urban Moonshine, a company in Burlington, Vermont whose mission is to “rekindle the relationship between herbal medicine and the modern world” by producing handcrafted, organic bitters and tonics. Urban Moonshine offers three bitters—Original, Citrus and Maple—which I sampled, as well...

The Seelbach is a pre-prohibition cocktail that originated at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, KY.  Lost to drinkers for nearly 80 years, the recipe was rediscovered in 1995. If you’re ever in downtown Louisville, head into the gorgeous Seelbach Hotel to taste the famous cocktail. The Seelbach 1 ounce bourbon 1/2 ounce Cointreau 7 dashes Angostura Bitters 7 dashes Peychaud's Bitters Champagne Pour bourbon, Cointreau and bitters into a champagne flute, and stir.  Top with champagne, stir once more and garnish with an orange twist.   Photo: Cocktail Hacker ...