Angostura bitters

Used in 8 recipes on RecipeWiki.

Angostura bitters, the best known of the aromatic bitters, is a dark red-brown infusion of spices and bitter root, used by the dash rather than the measure. A drop or two tastes of clove, cinnamon and something medicinally bitter, and in a drink it works like seasoning: it rounds sweetness, ties spirit to sugar and lengthens the finish. That is its job in the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan, and in rum drinks here from Planter's Punch to the Zombie. In the Whisky Sour it sits against lemon and egg white. It keeps for years in the cupboard, so one bottle covers a great many drinks; add the dashes before the ice, where you can see them land.

What else can I make with it?

Most often cooked with

Recipes with angostura bitters

Caribbean Rum Punch — shot from directly overhead: a jug punch on the old sour-sweet-strong-weak ratio

Caribbean Rum Punch

A jug punch on the old sour-sweet-strong-weak ratio, spiced with nutmeg and Angostura and made to sit on a table rather than a bar.

1 hr 10 minServes 8

15 minutesCaribbeanCitrus

Manhattan — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Manhattan

Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, stirred and served up with a cherry — the older, richer cousin of the martini.

15 minutesAmericanCocktails

Old Fashioned — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Old Fashioned

Whiskey, sugar and bitters built over one big piece of ice — the original definition of the word cocktail, and still the test of a bar.

15 minutesAmericanCocktails

Planter's Punch — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Planter's Punch

One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak — the old rhyme, built on dark Jamaican rum and drunk long over ice.

15 minutesCaribbeanCitrus

Rum Swizzle — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Rum Swizzle

Two rums, two juices and bitters churned with crushed ice until the glass frosts and the drink turns cloudy and cold.

15 minutesCaribbeanCitrus

Singapore Sling — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Singapore Sling

Gin, cherry brandy and pineapple built long over ice — the hotel-bar drink that survived a century of people getting it wrong.

15 minutesCitrusCocktails

Whisky Sour — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Whisky Sour

Whiskey, lemon and sugar shaken with egg white until it wears a thick pale collar, with bitters dotted across the foam.

15 minutesAmericanCitrus

Zombie — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Zombie

Three rums, two juices, falernum and absinthe over crushed ice — the strongest drink on any tiki menu, and built to taste as though it is not.

15 minutesAmericanCitrus