Most people think of bitters as an alcohol you add to a cocktail to make it fancy! Well, it’s sort of true, they are made using alcohol, but they are not a kind of alcohol. We know them as enhancing and balancing elements of cocktail recipes, but, as you’ll soon learn, bitters are actually medicine!

What are Bitters?

Bitters are a grouping of plant medicines that perform a certain action. This action is extracted from plants using a variety of alcohols. Herbs that fall into this category tend to taste bitter on the tongue, hence the name.

The Benefits of Bitters

Bitters, according to the Bitter Principle, work through volatile oil components called an alkaloids or sesquiterpenes which triggers both that mouth feel, salivary response, and sends a message through our nervous system to get the rest of the digestive system going. Gastrin is stimulated through this method which

stimulates appetite
gets those digestive juices from the pancreas, duodenum, and liver going (which lots of added benefit for the rest of the body)
helps the liver detoxify and increase the flow of bile
helps the pancrease regulate blood sugar, insulin, and glucagon
helps the gut wall repair any damage

So basically, when you consume a bitter herb, or bitter extract, your body fires up that digestion.

Bitter Foods

Foods like dandelion leaf, artichoke, kale, eggplant, brussel sprouts, and more aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, stimulate digestion and soothe gas and bloating. Think about it, when was the last time you regularly consumed your dark leafy greens? It’s no surprise these bitter foods have gone missing from our North American diet as other more instantly satisfying foods have become so readily available. At a moments notice we can have all of the fat, sugar, and salt for that quick dopamine hit, delivered straight to our door and shoved into our mouths. So satisfying for a minute, until our guts tell us otherwise. Gone are the days when the average family grew their own food and medicine in their backyard.

If you’re able to, consuming bitter foods is an excellent way to naturally stimulate your digestion, cleanse your digestive tract, and keep your organs happy, but that’s another deep dive.

History of Bitters as Medicine

Just as the practice of eating and growing our own food has all but disappeared, so has growing and making our own medicine. Back in the day, families would have had homemade bitters in their medicine cabinets to treat stomach discomfort and other digestive and liver issues. Personally, I tend to imagine the matriarchs of the family used alcoholic beverages as a way to sneak in the bitters medicine into their spouses nightcaps, experimenting with flavours to help the medicine go down. Alchemy is as old as time, but I think this might be where a lot of our neoclassical cocktail recipes stem from and stuck around as apertifs and digestifs became a regular part of meal times.

Cocktail Bitters

Most recently, lockdowns stirred up a huge interest in cocktail making and bitters have made a comeback (I love when plant medicine is popular and accessible). I know my Tik tok was blowing up with romanticized cocktail making, jazzy tunes and the backdrop of an NYC skyline. But what’s up with bitters in a cocktail? We know they’re medicinal, but what else do they DO in the mix?

Well, bitters help to create balance within a cocktail and provide unique flavouring options. They can accentuate the flavours of the cocktail by allowing the naturally sweet, tangy, and/or sour tastes to shine, or provide an aromatic experience that hits the nose and sends you down memory lane.

I think of them as ways to flavour your drink and take your medicine. Maybe it’s because I grew up with a parent who poured a glass of rum and coke in the evening, but I too, love an evening moment where I can finally sit down with a frosted glass, swirl my icecubes and enjoy something bubbly.

In honour of wanting to induce these moments and help YOU take your medicine, I’ve created a line up of bitters for the cocktail and natural medicine enthusiast!

You can use any of these bitters in either alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. Our bitters use 35-45% ABV (alcohol by volume) and all you need is a dash or two per drink, averaging out to ¼ tsp or 0.04 ounces.

Different kinds of bitters.

Now, in the bar scene, there is very much an expansion of this category of bitters. Most meet the herbal action we described above, but some are solely to balance or add aroma. So if you’re reading a recipe, you’ll notice they might ask for a specific brand of bitters instead of describing what the role of bitters is in the drink, or what the actual herb is. So just dig a little deeper and find a different recipe that tells you what the plant actually is! Here are some industry bitter terms you might come across.

Citrus bitters like orange or grapefruit are commonly used in Bourbon cocktails like an Old Fashioned.

Aromatic bitters can be herbs like lavender, rosemary, or the mint in your mojito.

Digestives are the true bitter tasting herbs like gentian, burdock and angelica,

Cocktail bitters are any herb that enhances or balances flavour.

How to use Bitters

Slow and steady wins the race which is why having a dropper bottle is so handy.

Add one drop, stir and taste and go from there depending on your preference.

Non-alcoholic Bitters

Although our bitters are made with alcohol menstrums, the amount you are adding to your beverage is less than you would consume in a glass of orange juice. If you are avoiding alcohol for other purposes consider using the dried herbs in a tea for the same effect!

My favourite way to enjoy bitters is soda water and ice, plus a dash of bitters! You still get that satisfying bubble and swirl of the icecubes without the other effects of alcohol.

Plus you can try a new flavour every night!

ENJOY!

Should you try Cocktail Bitters?