Founded in 2008 by Seattle bartender Miles Thomas, Scrappy’s makes seven different bitters – lavender, lime, grapefruit, orange, chocolate, cardamom and celery – and their website promises two more in the near future: aromatic and root beer. We recently received a gift box containing Scrappy’s cardamom, grapefruit, lime and orange bitters. For evaluation, we tasted each by itself, added some to water, and mixed up a few cocktails. Some thoughts –

Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
Strong cardamom aroma and flavor, balanced with a bit of citrus. It’s sweet and spicy, and should work well with a variety of aromatic drinks and hot toddies.

Scrappy’s Grapefruit Bitters
Bitter grapefruit peel merges with sweet gentian root, for an overall flavor that’s light and zesty. For good results, add it to gin drinks and aperitifs.

Scrappy’s Lime Bitters
First off, kudos to Scrappy’s for producing a lime bitters, which is certainly under-represented in the citrus bitters category. The lime bitters are intensely fresh, with a huge burst of lime peel followed by subtle spices and herbs.

Scrappy’s Orange Bitters
Bitter orange and spices mingle for a fresh and flavorful bitters that leave an unctuous, orange-chocolate candy flavor in the mouth. Delicious with soda and in rich gin drinks like the martinez.

Scrappy’s Bitters are available at many bars and shops in the Pacific Northwest, and select others around the country. To purchase them for home use, your best bet is buying online via stores like Kaufmann Mercantile.

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 Icelandic Bitters made with Reyka Vodka and featuring some favorite flavors of Iceland, including thyme, moss and Anjelica.

According to the Icelandic Bitters bottle, simply sprinkle a few drops on top of your Reyka and ice, and voila!, you’ve got a Bitter Reyka. Naturally, the Reyka-based bitters pair well with the Reyka Vodka. The resulting drink is deceptively simple but surprisingly tasty, with the bitters adding an earthy, spicy and herbal quality to the vodka.

As mentioned above, Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters created their Icelandic Bitters in very small quantities – to the tune of just 32 bottles – but the company hints that the enthusiastic response might compel them to make more. Here’s hoping that’s the case.

Photo: Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters

Like that? Drink this:
- The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Traveler’s Set
- Urban Moonshine Organic Bitters

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 bag.

Celery Bitters

Tasty and complex, with a hit of lemongrass among the dominant celery, these bitters make a perfect addition to your morning Bloody Mary.

Orange Bitters

Add two dashes to your martini for a zesty orange note that enhances the tried-and-true combo of gin and dry vermouth.

Creole Bitters

Cardamom and spice lead the way with a subtle, floral finish.

Old Time Aromatic Bitters

A classic aromatic bitters to use in your Manhattans and Old Fashioneds.

Jerry Thomas’ Decanter Bitters

Dedicated to 19th century barman Professor Jerry Thomas, these bitters reveal citrus and dried fruit aromas, plus the spicy flavors of cinnamon, angostura bark and cloves.

Like that? Drink this:
- Urban Moonshine Organic Bitters

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 the generous pour of Angostura Bitters, and it was likely the gin of choice by the drink’s original fan base – sailors.

Pink Gin

3 ounces Plymouth Gin
6 dashes Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice until cold, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Urban Moonshine offers three bitters—Original, Citrus and Maple—which I sampled, as well as three tonics—Immunity, Longevity and Chocolate Love—which I didn’t.  Each variety of bitters is available in a 10ml spray bottle, a 2 ounce bottle with pipette and an 8.4 ounce bottle.

I sampled each bitters first in a glass of water and then in a cocktail.  In water, the Original tasted similar to an aromatic bitters with complex, earthy, herby flavors, while the citrus was more… bitter than I expected, but still pleasant, with flavors or orange and maybe even some lime.  The Maple was sweet and decidedly maple-tasting, as the name suggests.

For cocktails, I used the Citrus bitters in a martini, and used both the Original and Maple bitters in a manhattan and old fashioned.  In the martini, the Citrus bitters worked quite well, adding a deep orangey note to the cocktail.  In both the manhattan and old fashioned, each constructed with rye whiskey, the Original bitters worked nicely.  But it was the Maple that really shined, adding a sweet and balanced note to the spiciness of the rye.

Another cocktail I tried came straight from Urban Moonshine, and was concocted by John Gertsen of Boston’s Drink, one of my favorite cocktail bars.  And though I can’t think of many reasons to mix orange juice and maple syrup, it too did not disappoint.

Old Vermont Cocktail Recipe

1 3/4 ounces London dry gin
1/2 ounce maple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce fresh orange juice
2 dashes Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with two dashes of Maple Bitters.

Whether their products are used as a digestive aid or to enhance a cocktail, the fine folks at Urban Moonshine are on to something.  The availability is still somewhat limited, so if you can’t find Urban Moonshine’s bitters in your area, you can buy online.

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