Ingredients
The commercial product
- Aromatic bitters produced by the House of Angostura, Laventille, Trinidad
- Formula created 1824 by Dr Johann Siegert in Angostura, Venezuela; production moved to Trinidad in 1875
- 44.7% alcohol by volume, gentian root and a secret blend of herbs and spices
- Contains no angostura bark despite the name
Home aromatic bitters, in the style
- 20 gdried gentian root
- 500 mlhigh-proof neutral spirit (60% abv or overproof rum)
- 3cinnamon sticks, broken
- 2 tspwhole cloves
- 2 tspallspice berries
- 1 tspcardamom pods, cracked
- 2star anise
- Zest of 2 oranges, pared with no pith
- 1 tspdried bitter orange peel
- 1 tspblack peppercorns
- ½ tspdried prunes or raisins
- 80 gdemerara sugar
- 60 mlwater
Directions
- Understand what you are copying: the real formula is a trade secret held by a handful of people at the House of Angostura and has never been reproduced. What follows is an honest aromatic bitters in the same idiom, not the original.
- Put the gentian root alone in a jar with 150 ml of the spirit. Gentian is ferociously bitter and extracts fast, so it is macerated separately to keep control of it.
- In a second jar, combine the remaining spirit with the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, star anise, peppercorns, both orange peels and the dried fruit.
- Seal both jars, keep them in a dark cupboard at room temperature and shake once daily for 2 weeks. The spice jar will darken to deep amber and smell like Christmas cake.
- Strain both through muslin, pressing the solids, then simmer the spent spices in 250 ml water for 10 minutes, cool and strain – this pulls out the water-soluble aromatics the alcohol left behind.
- Melt the demerara sugar in a dry pan over medium heat until it turns dark mahogany and just begins to smoke, then kill it with the 60 ml water, standing back as it spits. Simmer to a thin caramel syrup.
- Blend the spice tincture with the caramel and the spice tea, then add the gentian tincture a teaspoon at a time, tasting on the back of your hand, until the bitterness is assertive but not numbing.
- Bottle in dasher bottles and rest 1 week before use. Dash 2–4 times into rum punch, Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, into soups, marinades and stewed fruit, or over ice in soda water for the Trinidadian standby, a Lemon, Lime and Bitters.
Technique
- Angostura’s oversized paper label famously does not fit the bottle – the result of a nineteenth-century mix-up between the brothers who ordered the labels and the bottles, kept ever since as a trademark.
- Bitters are a seasoning, not a drink. At nearly 45% abv a dash is a few drops; the product is classed as a food flavouring, not a spirit.
- Gentian, wormwood and cinchona are all potent bittering agents – measure them by weight, not by eye, and always extract them separately so one does not swamp the blend.
Substitutions
- No gentian root? Dried dandelion root or cinchona bark bitters similarly, though cinchona brings a quinine dryness closer to tonic than to Angostura.
- Overproof white rum in place of neutral spirit is closer to the Trinidadian original and adds its own molasses note.
Variations
- Angostura also make an orange bitters and a cocoa bitters, both far younger than the aromatic original.
- A house version with extra cassia, mace and dried cherry, popular with bartenders as a Manhattan bitters.
History
Created in 1824 by Dr Johann Siegert in Angostura, Venezuela; the company moved to Port of Spain in 1875 and still keeps the recipe secret.
Frequently asked questions
What is Angostura bitters?
Angostura bitters is a sauce & condiment from Trinidad and Tobago: aromatic spiced bitters dashed into cocktails, soups and rum punch. Created in 1824 by Dr Johann Siegert in Angostura, Venezuela; the company moved to Port of Spain in 1875 and still keeps the recipe secret.
How long does Angostura bitters take to make?
Angostura bitters takes 30 min of preparation and 3 weeks of cooking. The recipe makes about 500 ml (hundreds of dashes). It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Angostura bitters?
Yes, within limits. No gentian root? Dried dandelion root or cinchona bark bitters similarly, though cinchona brings a quinine dryness closer to tonic than to Angostura. Overproof white rum in place of neutral spirit is closer to the Trinidadian original and adds its own molasses note.
What is the most important thing to get right in Angostura bitters?
Understand what you are copying: the real formula is a trade secret held by a handful of people at the House of Angostura and has never been reproduced. What follows is an honest aromatic bitters in the same idiom, not the original.
