Angostura bitters
Encyclopedia
Angostura bitters, often simply referred to as angostura, is a concentrated bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...

 made of water, 44.7% alcohol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

, gentian root, and vegetable flavoring extracts
Vegetable fats and oils
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure...

 by House of Angostura
House of Angostura
The House of Angostura is a Trinidad and Tobago company famous for the production of angostura bitters, invented by the company's founder. The company is also a distiller and is the major producer of rum in Trinidad and Tobago. The company also has been used as a vehicle for international...

 in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

. They are typically used for flavoring beverages, or (less often) food. The bitters were first produced in the town of Angostura (Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691....

, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

) (hence the name), and do not contain angostura bark. The bottle is easily recognisable by its distinctive over-sized label.

History

The recipe was developed as a tonic by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert (died 1870), a Surgeon General in Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

's army in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, who began to sell it in 1824 and established a distillery for the purpose in 1830. Siegert was based in the town of Angostura, now Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691....

, and used locally available ingredients, perhaps aided by botanical knowledge of the local Amerindians. The product was sold abroad from 1853 and in 1875 the plant was moved from Ciudad Bolivar to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where it remains. Angostura won a medal at the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
]The Weltausstellung 1873 Wien was the large World exposition was held in 1873 in the Austria–Hungarian capital of Vienna. Its motto was Kultur und Erziehung ....

. The medal is still depicted on the over-sized label, along with reverse which shows Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...

 in profile.

The exact formula is a closely guarded secret
Trade secret
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers...

, with only five people knowing the whole recipe.

Angostura bitters are extremely concentrated and, though 44.7% alcohol by volume, are not normally drunk pure, but used in small amounts as flavouring.

Angostura bitters are a key ingredient in many cocktails. Originally used to mask the flavour of quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...

 in tonic water
Tonic water
Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually now has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctively bitter taste...

, itself usually served with gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...

, the mix stuck in the form of a Pink Gin
Pink Gin
Pink Gin is a cocktail made fashionable in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, consisting of Plymouth gin and a dash of 'pink' Angostura bitters, a dark red extract of gentian and spices, known from the 1820s at Angostura, Venezuela but now made in Trinidad and Tobago...

, and is also used in many other alcoholic cocktails such as Long vodka
Long vodka
Long Vodka is vodka-based cocktail, popular throughout Scotland and known to be served in some parts of England.- Preparation :A long vodka is made by adding lemonade or soda water and lime cordial to 1 or 2 shots of vodka on ice...

, consisting of vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

, Angostura bitters, and lemonade
Lemonade
Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...

. In the United States, it is best known for its use in whiskey cocktails: the Old Fashioned
Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned is a type of cocktail made by muddling dissolved sugar with bitters then adding alcohol, such as jenever, whiskey, or brandy, and a twist of citrus rind. The name references the combination's age: it is possibly the first drink to be called a cocktail...

, made with whiskey, bitters, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, and soda water
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....

, and The Manhattan
Manhattan (cocktail)
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Commonly used whiskeys include rye , Canadian whisky , bourbon, blended whiskey and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is often stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry...

, made usually with rye whiskey and sweet vermouth
Vermouth
Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...

. In a Pisco Sour
Pisco Sour
A Pisco Sour is a cocktail containing pisco, lemon or lime juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and bitters- Culture :The national origin of the pisco sour is debated. Both Chile and Peru lay claim to the drink. In both countries, the variety of lime used is what North Americans would call Persian lime...

 a few drops are sprinkled on top of the foam, both for aroma and decoration. In a Champagne Cocktail a few drops of bitters are added to a sugar cube. Though not in the classic recipe, bartenders sometimes add more flavor to the Mojito cocktail by sprinkling a few drops of Angostura bitter on top. Bitters can also be used in soft drinks; a common non-alcoholic drink served in Australian and New Zealand pubs is lemon, lime and bitters.

Angostura Bitters Drink Guide, a promotional booklet of 1908, was reprinted in 2008 with a new introduction by Ross Bolton.

Medicinal properties

Angostura bitters are alleged to have restorative properties. It was reported to be a remedy for hiccups, and also can be used as a cure for an upset stomach.

Angostura bitters is often incorrectly believed to have poisonous qualities because it is associated with Angostura bark (although it does not actually contain any), which, although not toxic, during its use as a medicine was often adulterated by unscrupulous sellers who padded out the sacks of bark with cheaper poisonous Strychnos nux-vomica or copalchi bark.

Bitters shortage of 2009

There was a shortage of Angostura bitters in 2009; the company reported that this was primarily caused by a problem in their supply of bottles. There were incorrect rumors of a product recall, or that production of the bitters had stopped at the plant in Trinidad. The shortage was the subject of many news articles and blogs, particularly in the cocktail world.
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