A bit about bitters

In the classic definition of a cocktail, bitters are a necessity. In short, if it doesn't have bitters, it is not a cocktail. What does this tell you? Unless you are drinking manhattans, sazeracs, old fashioneds or real mojitos, you are most likely not drinking a cocktail.

You have likely seen a little bottle covered in paper with a plastic yellow top. This is called Angostura bitters, named for the town of Angostura in Venezuela in which it was created. As far as most people know, there are no other kinds of bitters. Shame on you if this is a belief you hold.

There is a wide world of bitters out there if you care to delve into it. There are strange people out there distilling and infusing their own in secret locations known only to the lucky few that will get to drink them. For the rest of us however, there are a few other notable commercial bitters that will serve our purposes. If you get a chance, seek out Peychaud's bitters and Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6.

You can't actually make a proper sazerac without Peychaud's, and that alone should be enough to send you running to the store to get some. A better reason though is to arm yourself to create some truly wonderful cocktails. And as we learned earlier, if it doesn't have bitters in it, it is not a cocktail.