Information AboutBitters |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BITTERS | |
| bittersbitters | |
| herbs | |
| drink mixers | |
| distilled beverages | |
|
They are not to be confused with '' Bitter '', a type of British ale. Bitters still available today include:
Other brands of bitters have also included: Both Angostura Bitters and Peychaud Bitters are compounds whose chief taste comes from Gentian , a bitter herb. Angostura Bitters was first compounded in Venezuela in 1824 by a German physician, who intended it as a remedy for Stomach maladies. It was exported to England and to Trinidad , where it came to be used in a number of cocktails following its medicinal use by the British Navy in Pink Gin . Angostura and similar gentian bitters preparations are still of some value to settle a mild case of Nausea , and is used to stimulate the appetite, either for food or cocktails. It is also a Digestif , and quite often, a bitters and soda will cure normal gastral ailments. Their use in cocktails, however, is what accounts for the vast majority of sales. Angostura was named for the town of Angostura in Venezuela. It contains no Angostura Bark , a medicinal bark which is named after the same town. Angostura Bitters is the most widely distributed bar item in the world. Used as the "starter" ingredient in a Pink Gin, where a splash (or two) of Angostura Bitters is swilled around the inner surface of a tumbler before adding a generous measure of London Gin. The resulting drink is so named from the colour imparted by the Bitters. In addition to the options of drinking a Pink straight, it may also be consumed with a little water, still or sparkling. Real connoisseurs of the Pink Gin even have preference for drinking it "in" or "out" - referring to whether the remaining dribble of Bitters (after the glass has been "pinked") be left in or poured away, before the Gin is added. A large tumbler, similarly "pinked", and filled with sparkling lemonade, results in a drink known as a Campbell. This is a pleasant and refreshing way the relieve a little of the sweetness of lemonade, and is of sufficiently low alcohol content to be served to youngsters as "something special" when they are with parents at a cocktail party or similar. Peychaud's Bitters is associated with New Orleans, Louisiana , and can be difficult to find elsewhere. It, too, is a gentian based bitters, with a subtly different and sweeter taste than the Angostura brand. Peychaud's Bitters is associated with the Sazerac cocktail. Orange bitters are made from the rinds of unripe oranges. They are called for in some older cocktail recipes. Medicinal quantities of Quinine were occasionally used in old cocktail recipes. Quinine is still found in much lower concentrations in Tonic Water , used today mostly in drinks with Gin . EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|