Essential Bitters Cocktails: The 10 Drinks You Need to Know
These ten drinks between them cover every way bitters are used, from two dashes as seasoning to an ounce and a half as the base spirit. Some need only Angostura; others turn on a bitter liqueur doing the same job at a larger measure.
The ten drinks that define bitters in cocktails are: the Old Fashioned (the original bitters cocktail), the Manhattan (bitters with whiskey and vermouth), the Negroni (Campari as the bitter backbone), the Sazerac (Peychaud's in its defining role), the Boulevardier (the whiskey Negroni), the Martini with orange bitters, the Aperol Spritz (the aperitivo entry point), the Paper Plane (amaro in a modern classic), the Trinidad Sour (bitters as the base spirit), and the Vieux Carré (Peychaud's and Angostura together).
Why do bitters matter in cocktails?
Bitters do for cocktails what salt does for food: they enhance existing flavors, add complexity, and tie disparate ingredients together. A Manhattan without bitters is just whiskey and vermouth. The bitters provide the aromatic bridge that makes it a cocktail. Even a single dash changes the balance of a drink, which is why the spirit-forward classics specify them by the dash rather than leaving them optional.
Where should a beginner start?
The Old Fashioned is the simplest expression of bitters in a cocktail: spirit, sugar, and bitters. Make it with Angostura and bourbon first. Then make it with orange bitters. Then try Peychaud's. The difference between the three is immediate in the same drink. The Manhattan then introduces vermouth, the Negroni introduces bitter liqueurs, and the Sazerac introduces the absinthe rinse.
What bottles do I need to make these ten cocktails?
Surprisingly few bottles are needed. Angostura aromatic bitters covers the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Trinidad Sour and half of the Vieux Carré. Peychaud's covers the Sazerac and the other half of the Vieux Carré. Orange bitters covers the Martini and the Boulevardier. Campari covers the Negroni and the Boulevardier alongside it. Aperol covers the Spritz and one quarter of the Paper Plane, with Amaro Nonino covering another. Six bottles of bitters and bitter liqueurs cover all ten essential cocktails.
How do the different bitters roles compare across these drinks?
Bitters play different roles depending on the drink. In the Old Fashioned and Manhattan they are seasoning: a few dashes to enhance the spirit. In the Negroni and Boulevardier, Campari is a primary ingredient measured in ounces. In the Trinidad Sour, Angostura IS the base spirit. In the Paper Plane, amaro and Aperol provide the bitter structure in equal parts.
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