Expand Your Cocktail Repertoire with Bitters -- 4 New Spirits You Should Try
By Jordan Mackay
A taste for bitter is not generally associated with the American palate, which is often noted for its sweet tooth, given our love of soda, milk shakes, mocha lattes and such. Unsurprisingly, the tradition of bitter alcoholic beverages comes from Europe, where many less sweet aperitifs and liqueurs evolved out of the 600-year-old tradition of medicinal alcoholic infusions.
The component flavors that we know as bitter come from nature. Roots, barks, peels, leaves and flowers were the medieval world's salves and cure-alls.
Eventually these medicines evolved into health tonics, as their bitter elements were known to have positive effects on indigestion, headaches and other annoyances. In Italy and Eastern Europe, the category of the amaro developed, where thick, dark spirits like Unicum, Jagermeister and Fernet Branca were taken as a digestive dose of bitter to help a big meal settle.
Related: They brew up more than beer in Colorado? Check out Rocky Mountain rums.
Although referred to as "bitter," these spirits are more than bitter. They're complex amalgams of flavors, in which the bitter is balanced by hints of sweetness, fruitiness and spice. Bitter might be the top note, but when really savored, the delicious complexity and even sweetness of these spirits readily becomes apparent.
Here are four of my favorite bitters, along with a few notes of how to drink them.
Bitter No. 1 -- Campari: The crimson king of bitters, this Italian staple is surprisingly unknown to most Americans, whose encounters with it mainly may be spying a dust-covered bottle on the back of a dive bar's shelf. The signature red color of Campari, which makes it really fun to drink, used to come from of a dye called carmine cochineal, which was extracted from a Central and South American cochineal beetle. Today, however, a modern red food dye is employed. But the flavor is the same -- an herbal bitter which sits atop notes of oranges and spices that give it its trademark bittersweet taste.
Related: Want to check out the Museum of the American Cocktail on vacation this year?
Most people's palates are shocked at the first taste of Campari, but as the tongue settles in and gets used to the flavor, it finds the inherent sweetness and learns to love it. Campari is famous as one of the trio of ingredients in the Negroni (one-third each red vermouth, Campari and gin). But it's also excellent in a simpler cocktail, the Americano (Campari, soda, sweet vermouth). And the classic Italian application of the simple Campari and soda over ice is irresistible on a summer afternoon. Garnish with a squeezed wedge of lemon, lime or orange. At only 24 percent alcohol by volume, Campari is stronger than a beer or wine, but just over half the strength of a vodka or tequila.
Bitter No. 2 -- Aperol: The orange companion to Campari's red, Aperol is a more gentle application of the flavor of bitter. Its taste backs up its orange color, fronting tangerines and orange which are bittered with notes of gentian root, chinchona bark (the source of quinine) and rhubarb, as well as a multitude of secret herbs, roots and spices. Aperol is simply delicious and can be taken, like Campari, simply with soda. But in northern Italian cities such as Trieste, where it is immensely popular, Aperol is mixed evenly with Prosecco and a slice of orange to make the Aperol Spritz, a quintessential summer refresher.
Bitter No. 3 -- Cocchi Americano: I was pleased to see this on the shelf of a wine shop I was perusing the other day, as it has not been imported to this country for a very long time. Produced in the northern Italian town of Asti since the late 19th century from a base wine of Moscato, this spirit is not unlike a vermouth. That is, it's wine-based, fortified with alcohol and infused with roots, herbs and spices.
Related: Which whiskey is neat?
One thing that's notable about it is that it strongly features the flavor of quinine, something that had been missing from most liqueurs and vermouths prevalent on the American market. As my friend Toby Cecchini noted in this short New York Times essay on the Cocchi Americano, this flavor fills a hole in American cocktail-making left when Kina Lillet's formula was re-jiggered to tone down the quinine.
Related: Apple brandy -- the cure for the appletini.
Suddenly, classic cocktails like the Vesper and the Corpse Reviver #2 that featured the quinine flavor of Lillet could not be made in the same way. Cocchi Americano, however, makes a worthy substitute in those drinks, returning them to their authentic forms. Of course, it's also great to drink over ice with soda and a squeeze of lemon. Try that while chopping vegetables for a weeknight dinner, and you'll see the beauty of the aperitif.
Bitter No. 4 -- Gran Classico: This awesome aperitif is fairly new to the market, but will create a splash. Now manufactured in Switzerland (thanks to California-based importer Tempus Fugit Spirits, Gran Classico is based on a famous bitters recipe dating from Turin in the 1860s. While made with the usual assortment of peels, roots and herbs, the flavor here is quite bitter but also incredibly bright, complex and satisfying. With hints of rhubarb, vanilla and orange, the major note here is gentian. Take it with soda, vermouth or even as an addition to a light lager or ale or substitute it for any of the other bitters in such cocktails as the Negroni or Americano for a great drink.
Also fresh on Zester Daily:
What happens when the idea of sustainability catches on in China?
Which forgotten fruit is poised for a renaissance?
Bored with the same old chicken and beef? Try rabbit.
How should the new movie 'The Apple Pushers' influence food policy?
