The Five Best Bitters for an Old-Fashioned Cocktail

Cocktail bitters are aromatic, alcohol-based infusions added to balance the taste of a cocktail. Essentially, cocktails contain sour and sweet and sour flavors. Adding a bitter taste to a mixed drink gives it a more complex and complete flavor profile. Bitters have become a popular cocktail additive and include flavored liquors with plant extracts’ sharp pungent taste. Old-fashioned provides few options for individuals to get creative and twist the recipe. You can tweak your cocktail by experimenting with bitters and a sweetener. With a broad selection of cocktail bitters, identifying a perfect one for your old-fashioned cocktail may be challenging. The following are the five best bitters for an Old fashioned cocktail.

5. Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6

Whiskey pairs perfectly with chocolate, oranges, and nuts. Regan’s orange bitters number six is one of the best additives for an old-fashioned cocktail and an ideal choice to add flavor to classic Whiskey cocktails. Formerly, Gary Regan, Gaz Regan is the cocktail columnist and quirky bartender behind this fabulous orange bitters offering that shares his last name. According to Hi Consumption, this cocktail addition contains 45% alcohol, spicy cloves, and cinnamon. It is suitable for all kinds of whisky cocktails, including sazeracs, manhattans, and of course, the old-fashioned. In fact, Gaz, the founder and creator, implies that Regan’s orange bitters are also ideal for an aged sloe gin or rum martini cocktail. Regan’s orange bitters is an all-around additive and a distinctive brand of bitters to have in any home or bar. A little dash of this tonic is enough to add flavor to your old-fashioned since it is very concentrated.

4. Jack Rudy Cocktail Aromatic Bitters

Aromatic bitters can feature a broad range of tastes. Jack Rudy’s aromatic bitters are also some of the best for an old-fashioned cocktail. It is a variety of vanilla ice cream bitters, but it is one brand that is far more well done in comparison to many others in this category. According to Cocktail Society, this bitterness offering is formed in collaboration with Cocktail Punk and is an excellent alternative to the old classic options like Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters. Jack Rudy cocktail aromatic bitters are created in small batches and comprise a base of burnt cane sugar. These cocktail bitters also feature subtle notes of winter spices, citrus, and bittering agents. If you have too many cocktails and want to take an edge off your hangover in the morning, squeezing a few drops of this tonic into your ginger ale or water bottle can help ease your nausea. Jack Rudy contains enough bitter elements to balance the flavor and add an exciting taste to your old-fashioned cocktail.

3. Bittermilk New Orleans style Old Fashioned Rouge

Bittermilk, New Orleans Style, is also one of the best bitters designed to enhance your old-fashioned cocktail recipe. It comprises a spicy and herbal flavor profile with solid licorice notes and lightly rose-colored bitters tinted with the cochineal pigments. The cochineal is a minute little bug or a Peruvian red beetle that gives these bitters a unique rose color, drawing inspiration from the traditional way the Campari colored the famous amaro. Unlike other Bittermilk products, the flavor in this bitterness offering is pretty condensed. You only need a couple of drops of this tonic to give your old-fashioned cocktail a new twist. Although this Bittermilk offering is formed in the New Orleans style, it is crafted and packaged in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a delicious and impressive cocktail additive variety created by highly-skilled bartenders. Bittermilk, New Orleans Style, features well-balanced ingredients, including organic lemon peel, cane sugar, gentian root, and wormwood.

2. Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

Cocktail bitters featuring “Old Fashion bitters” in their descriptions are an obvious choice for an old-fashioned cocktail. Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters include orange peel as one of the primary ingredients and have chocolate as a complementary flavor to orange. The bitters brand adds special herbal notes, a perfect combination for an old-fashioned cocktail. It comprises a variety of bitters with a more complex and intense taste than many traditional options, bringing an added dimension alongside a sour aroma. A simple addition of these chocolate bitters will serve you right regardless of whether you are looking for a cocktail with the complexity of a deep flavor palette or in need of a suitable top-off for your dessert cocktail. You can try them old-fashioned, with a strong bourbon or any whiskey finished in rum or sherry casks. The Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters are not only meant for old-fashioned cocktails but also classic cocktail recipes like Manhattan.

1. Angostura bitters

Angostura bitters are probably the best for cocktails regardless of whether they are used as an addition to an old-fashioned cocktail or a New York Sour. Named after a Venezuela town, Angostura is the premium standard for cocktail bitters across the globe. Its roots date back to the 1800s and are still bartenders’ first choice. It was initially meant to be sold to sailors to help cure seasickness and is one of the brands that have survived prohibition. According to The Whiskey Guide, these bitters are not just preferred for being common but because they stand up to the best. Angostura bitters are hard to beat, especially when mixed with aged spirits like Whiskey. They can enhance the existing flavors and may be used as the base spirit in several drinks, including an Angostura Colada and Trinidad Sour. Bitters are increasingly becoming an essential staple for any bar serving craft cocktails. They enhance your cocktail experience with herbs, fruits, aromatic roots, spices, and other ingredients. There are plenty of drinks that require an additive, but the old-fashioned cocktail is probably the most noteworthy. If your favorite restaurant or bar does not match your choice of bitters well, the availability of multiple options can transform you into a perfect home bartender. Old-fashioned cocktail additives are readily available in supermarkets and other retail distribution networks. The five best bitters in this article will bring a kick to your regular old-fashioned cocktail.