Bitterholics Anonymous
They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, so I’m just going to say it…
My name is Jay Hepburn and I am a bitterholic.
As my interest and knowledge in cocktails has expanded so my bitters collection has followed, and I now have a collection of nearly twenty bottles, ranging from the ubiquitous Angostura Aromatic bitters to the rare Hermes orange bitters and even a few of my own attempts. I just can’t get enough of them, and I can’t really explain why. One bottle of aromatic bitters and one bottle of orange bitters would be perfectly adequate to make most of the cocktails I drink, but nonetheless every time I see a new bitters I can’t resist trying to get my hands on it.
The world of bitters has been transformed over the last decade, with the arrival of a huge number of products that helped reverse the rapid decline that set in during the middle of the twentieth century. Now that the commonly called for aromatic bitters and orange bitters are pretty well catered for, we seem to be moving in to a second phase in the resurgence of bitters with companies starting to produce both more unusual bitters from the past, as well as entirely new flavours.
A perfect example of the later is Bittermens bitters, whose creators Avery and Janet Glasser have crafted products based on chocolate, nuts and tiki drinks which open up a wealth of possibility to modern bartenders. The more esoteric classic bitters are also making a comeback though. Fee Brothers’ range of grapefruit, lemon and mint bitters have been available for some time now, and The Bitter Truth, who already produce an excellent set of aromatic, orange and lemon bitters, have been working on two new bottles – Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters and, drum-roll please, Celery Bitters.
When I caught whiff of these products courtesy of Christian I immediately got in touch with Stephan Berg to find out when they were going to become available, but true to previous generosity he went one step further and sent me some to try for myself. Consider me very much off the wagon…
The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
Celery bitters were produced in the nineteenth century by several different companies, and are occasionally cited in older recipe books, but the decline of bitters in the twentieth century sealed their fate and celery bitters were no more. This new bottling from The Bitter Truth marks the first time in many decades celery bitters have been produced, making their appearance a rather exciting prospect.
At a hefty 45% alcohol, The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters have a fiery kick to them which is pretty overwhelming when tasted alone. Behind the fire, there is a strong taste of celery seeds, along with a citrus bite and some spice. There is a long finish of celery seeds as well as a moderate amount of bitterness. They taste quite unlike any other bitters I have tried, and have a real complexity which suggests to me they will be a very useful ingredient in many cocktails.
Even when bitters were in their heyday celery bitters were fairly obscure, so to say it’s difficult finding recipes that call for them is something of an understatement. Indeed the only recipe I could find, the Celery Sour, called for just one teaspoon each of celery bitters, lemon juice and pineapple syrup. Not being particularly enthralled by that idea, I instead decided to try the celery bitters in a Dry Martini.
I mixed up the Martini using my standard brands of Plymouth and Noilly Prat, at a ratio of about 3:1, along with two dashes of the celery bitters. The resulting drink was absolutely delicious – one of the best Martinis I’ve ever had. The celery bitters added an almost citrus like zing which rendered the lemon twist I usually add completely unnecessary. They helped the gin and vermouth blend together perfectly, and added an extra flavour dimension to the drink I had never experienced before. Wonderful. Just wonderful.
I’m looking forward to trying celery bitters in other cocktails, and can’t wait until they get in to the hands of mixologists and we start seeing some new recipes. Based on the Martini I tried, I think these bitters have a huge amount of promise. The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters will be released in the next few months – keep an eye on their website and order some as soon as you can!
Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters
Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters are a limited edition tribute to Jerry Thomas based on the recipe he provided in The Bartenders Guide. Originally produced by Stephan in a very small batch last year, their popularity with the people that tried them persuaded him to make a larger batch. Just 202 bottles have been produced, all of which have unfortunately sold out.
The bitters have a bright, mildly sweet initial taste. There are hints of raisin, clove and citrus, and the finish reveals some bitterness. They are less intense than The Bitter Truth’s own aromatic bitters, but the taste profile provides some interesting flavours not found in any other aromatic bitters I have tried. They worked well in a Manhattan, though a relatively large dose was required to stand up to the spiciness of the rye. In an Old Fashioned they worked even better, blending really well with the Bourbon and adding plenty of extra depth.
Although there are no plans to make this a regular product in The Bitter Truth’s line-up, Stephan tells me there is a chance another batch will be produced within the next few months. Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters are a useful addition to the aromatic bitters family, and interesting from a historical standpoint given their origin. A fitting tribute to the godfather of mixed drinks.
Posted in Aromatic Bitters, Celery Bitters, Recipes
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March 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 am
I’m so bitter! I mean, I’m so jealous!
I’ve tried to make a celery bitters, but having no experience of the stuff to go on, I produced something interesting but not compelling. I can’t wait to get some of those into my liquor cabinet.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Oh. Oh my. Color me a bright shade of envy. That’s quite a collection, and celery bitters sound amazing!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:32 am
The Celery Bitters are worth quite some consideration. Gibson and Red Snapper cry for depth. First experiences were Martinesque, though:
4-6 parts Tanqueray
1 part cucumbered* Noilly Prat Dry
1 dash ROBitters
3 dashes TBT Celery Bitters
Stirred and strained into chilled Cocktailglass. Lemon Twist, no Drop.
* about 3 fingers of cucumber. then skinned. just the dark green part, muddeld. noilly prat to wash the stick. rested for 4-6 minutes. double-strained into the above mixture.
Cheers, Gonçalo.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Jay,
I know what you mean. I buy every darn new bottle of bitters I come across, and seldom use any of them more than once or twice, save for my trusty Angostura.
The only one I use with any regularity is Fee’s Mint Bitters. A few dashes of that really dresses up a Stinger quite nicely.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I’ve had the Fee’s Mint Bitters in a Mojito, it was great, but I thought “why buy a bottle for just one drink”. But the Stinger, and the Good Night Irene, that makes three. I’m getting one the next time I see it.
March 9th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
You know what, I’ve just realised I don’t have a bottle of the mint bitters! This is terrible… a trip to Gerry’s is in order tomorrow.
Gonçalo – the cucumbered vermouth sounds interesting, I will definitely be giving that a go.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I thought *I* was a bitters fanatic. I’m quite envious of Jay’s collection. Sometimes, I’ll decide I’m in the mood for bitters and will choose a drink that specifically calls for it. Or just add it to whatever I’m making anyway!
March 15th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Mycle – I regularly choose my bitters before my cocktail. Similarly I often choose something like an Old Fashioned, only to be stuck trying to decide which combination of bitters to choose. It’s a tough life eh?
March 16th, 2008 at 2:42 am
One thing I like about The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book is that for all of the cocktail recipes, the bitters are listed first, which makes it easy to choose a cocktail by the type of bitters you’re in the mood for.
March 24th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[...] an obscene collection of bitters someone had amassed. Took my a while, but I found it. Who owns it? Guess. Jay needs a hobby. Apparently, he already has [...]
April 29th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
would like to buy celery bitters is there an outlet near to leicester
April 30th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Brett, the celery bitters are not currently available to buy, but The Bitter Truth will be releasing them in the next few months hopefully. When they are, you can order them from their website – delivery to the UK is normally pretty quick. The only UK shop I know of that stocks The Bitter Truth is Gerry’s on Old Compton Street, London. I don’t know whether they will stock the celery bitters when they are launched though…
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I`m also awaiting those celery bitters…not to mention some of the Bittermens bitters..
In the mean time i`ve made myself some grapefruit bitters.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
I haven’t had positive experiences with bitters. I’ll not hesitate to keep trying. Does anyone know a good source in the USA? I doubt I’ll run into Jay on his trip.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Walt, what have been your bad experiences? If you want to pick up anything beyond Angostura Aromatic bitters and you can’t find a local store that sells them I’d recommend checking out my Amazon store. Most of the better bottles are available there. If you want The Bitter Truth bitters you can order them direct, but you will have to pay quite a bit in shipping.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Thanks for all the positive comments about Fee Brothers Bitters. Are you ready for my newest creation? Rhubarb Bitters! We are really curious to know how you will use it.
July 25th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Nice to see someone from Fee Bros. posting here. I’d like to take to opportunity to say how much I like Fee’s Old Fashioned Bitters. I ordered it on a whim not knowing what to expect, but I find myself reaching for it quite often. It just has a wonderful flavor.
Ellen, is the Old Fashioned Bitters intended to emulate the defunct Boker’s Bitters, or is entirely original? I’ve seen cocktail writers suggest using it in old recipes where Boker’s was called for.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I never really knew the answer before. So I just had a chat with my 86 year old father, John Fee III “Jack”. He had never worked for Fee Brothers before his Dad died in 1951. What he found in the lab were a series of test batches with notes scribbled down. Some of them in code. My Dad did his best to decipher what my Grandfather had left behind. Many good recipes were lost because of this secret code. However, the Old Fashion Bitters is one of the recipes that survived. We believe he developed it in the late 1940’s. As to what he was trying to do…who knows. Jack said that his Dad only had a high school education, but a fascination with experimenting, and a great set of taste buds.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Ellen, that’s a fascinating story. Thank you for sharing it. Whatever the Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters (finally got the name exactly right) was intended to be, it’s a great formula. I’m currently awaiting an order from Kegworks that will include Fee’s Lemon Bitters, Grapefruit Bitters, and another bottle of Old Fashion Bitters (the first time I ordered directly from Fee Bros, I ordered an abundant supply of Orange Bitters, but just the one small bottle of Old Fashion, now I’m afraid of running out of it!). BTW, I noticed that Kegworks already has your Rhubarb Bitters available.
August 7th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Ellen, the rhubarb bitters sound very interesting. I heard a lot about them at Tales of the Cocktail but sadly managed to miss meeting Joe, so didn’t manage to try any myself. If you fancy sending me some, feel free…
Great info on the Old Fashioned bitters, are they the same recipe as the barrel-aged bitters? I *love* the barrel-aged ones, looking forward to picking up some of the 2008 batch when I can.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I am currently recovering from an amazing night at the Bramble Bar in Edinburgh during which I sampled a decent proportion of their cocktail menu. The standout drink of the evening (and ALL of them were excellent, by the way) was the Celery Sour. An absolute sublime, complex, delicate flavour that has to be tried to be believed.
(And if you can get to Edinburgh, or live nearby, the Bramble is a cocktail connosieur’s paradise. Over the course of a busy Saturday evening every drink was turned out with care and precision and looked as good as the web site photos!)
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Chris – I had the pleasure of chatting to Jason of Bramble at the Class Bar Awards a few months ago. I’ve heard lots of good things about Bramble (and not just from him
) and I’m looking forward to hopefully making it up to Edinburgh at some point this summer.
April 9th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I see that Gerry’s now have the Fee’s Rhubarb bitters. Has anyone been using them ?
gethin
April 19th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Gethin – I’ve not been to Gerry’s for a while, didn’t realise they had these in. Our american friends have been doing some interesting things with them, so I’m looking forward to picking up a bottle to see what they are like.
August 20th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Celery bitters, on their own, tasted strikingly like Fruit Loops.