Angostura Bitters
Also known as: angostura, aromatic bitters
In short
Angostura bitters is the most famous bitter extract in the world: invented in Venezuela in 1824, made in Trinidad to this day, recipe strictly secret. We explain how a doctor from Greifswald became the seasoning of the cocktail world.
In depth
What are Angostura bitters?
Angostura bitters is an aromatic bitter extract made from gentian root, herbs and spices. The story begins in 1824 in the town of Angostura on the Orinoco river in Venezuela: there, Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a German army surgeon serving in Simón Bolívar's army, blended a bitter extract which he first sold as a tonic for soldiers and locals. The town's name stuck to the product, even after the town itself was renamed Ciudad Bolívar.
From the Orinoco to Trinidad
In 1875, Siegert's sons moved production to Port of Spain on Trinidad, where Angostura is still made today. The recipe is a closely guarded secret; only the base is known: bittering agents from gentian root, plus herbs and spices. And one number that surprises: at 44.7 percent ABV, the small bottle is stronger than many of the spirits it lands in.
The story of the oversized label
The most famous tale about the brand concerns its much too large label. According to the story, Siegert's sons won two separate competitions, one for the bottle and one for the label, and the measurements of the two did not match. Instead of switching, the family kept the oversized label and turned it into a trademark. Whether the tale is true cannot be proven, so it does not count as evidence. The label has stayed anyway, to this day, together with the paper wrapper over the bottle.
Bitters as seasoning
Angostura is the seasoning in the drink, not the star. One or two dashes are enough to lift aromas and give a drink its finishing touch, much like salt in the kitchen or a saline solution on the glass. The matching line: the jigger measures the foundation, the dash seasons the top, the free pour is the show with the same goal.
Classics built on the dash: Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Champagne Cocktail.
At our lounge
Whether in a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned: without the dash, the final point is missing. Ask our team which drinks get their finishing touch from bitters.