Okay, it goes in manhattans and old fashioneds, I know. But I just bought a bottle, and I calculate that it’ll take me approximately nine hundred billion cocktails to finish it off.
The label alleges that it’s good in sauces, pies, and soups. I’m a bit dubious, considering the label also claims it cures flatulence. Has anyone here ever used it for anything besides cocktails?
Well, champagne cocktails too. But for cooking, try http://www.angosturabitters.com/appetizers.htm
For others, just google “bitters cooking”
About twenty years ago I was a frequent patron of the EM club at Beeman Center on Subase, Pearl Harbor. Particularly on karaoke Thursdays.
One evening I arrived early for karaoke, and told the bartender that I had an upset stomach, and I didn’t really want a beer just then. I asked if she could pour me a room temperature 7-Up to calm things down a bit. Instead she suggested Angostura Bitters and soda. And it worked pretty well, too.
Does that count as a cocktail?
Peru’s national drink Pisco Sour.
Bitters and soda to settle your stomach on a night alternating between PBR and peppermint schnapps. (NEVER go drinking with people from Wisconsin.)
Lemon, lime, and Bitters.
It’s a common and popular drink over here and can also be bought pre-mixed, with one version actually made by Angostura. This link on their site gives a better description and also how to make it, http://www.angosturabitters.com/llb.htm.
The Pegu is a new favorite for me. It’s often described as tasting of grapefruit, YMMV. I like it, anyway.
It’s the best cure for hiccups that I’ve ever found. Perhaps not quite what you were seeking, but it works.
My favorite mixed drink, Passamaquaddy Punch:
Equal parts cranberry cocktail and lime seltzer (you could use cranberry juice–just use a splash in that case, and you’ll have a dry drink)
Liberal splash of angostura
Shot of rum
It’s really good. I usually drink spirits straight up, but I have a bottle of rum around for making this on occasion.
If I want the taste of alcohol but I don’t want to actually drink alcohol, lime seltzer with angostura in it hits some of the bitter/carbonated triggers that remind me of beer. It’s pretty tasty.
I’ve been on a quest for decent stir-fry without soy sauce (reducing sodium in my diet). A generous splash of bitters in vinegar with lemongrass, garlic and ginger makes a passable, vaguely Asian marinade.
Pink Gin is a somewhat popular drink in England. Just add a dash of bitters to a glass of gin, on the rocks if you’re in the U.S. If find it to be somewhat less enjoyable than a martini.
I prefer Peychaud’s Bitter to Angostura – made in New Orleans, and good in a Sazerac as well as an Old Fashioned (it’s an Old Fashioned with a dash of Pernod, pretty much, although usually served in a small tumbler without ice or “garbage” – orange slice, cherry, etc – just a bit of lemon peel).
Now, ORANGE bitters…there’s a bottle in my cabinet that going to last fifty years.
Angostura bitters is a common ingredient in quite a few rum drinks- usually not in large quantities, but as a dash here or there.
There are quite a few cocktails that call for angostura bitters; another one that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the Widow’s Kiss:
4 parts apple brandy (if possible, use the Laird’s bonded applejack)
1 part yellow Chartreuse (do not use green Chartreuse)
1 part Benedictine (make sure you didn’t accidentally get a bottle of B&B)
About 2 dashes of angostura bitters
I think orange bitters work better in a Manhattan than angostura bitters, so I’d recommend trying that. You can also use a mixture of angostura bitters and orange bitters in an old-fashioned. Another thing you could try is an Amber Dream:
1.5 oz gin
0.75 oz sweet vermouth (if you’re using Vya vermouth, use a little less)
0.25 oz yellow Chartreuse (don’t use green Chartreuse)
1 dash orange bitters
Stir & strain.
Assuming you’re also interested in non-beverage-related options, you can also add a few drops of Angostura and a sprinkle of sugar to a bowl of sliced strawberries for a simple dessert (either plain, or spooned onto some ice cream).
Also great for a hangover (remedy), with ginger ale.
There’s the Rock Shandy from South Africa -
Ice
Half a glass of lemonade or ginger ale
Half a glass of soda water
Bitters to taste
1/4 of a lime squeezed and dropped in
Also on the realm of mixed drinks, a proper Cuba Libre should have Angostura bitters. (dark) Rum, Coke, Lemon juice and bitters is the way I have always seen it mixed. It is so much better than just rum and coke.
If you want to get really simple, it’s tasty sprinkled in some Coke or diet Coke.
Oh, and by the way, Angostura bitters will not spoil so it is ok if that one small bottle lasts an eternity and a half. The one at my parents’ house has been there since I have memory and it is still going strong. I recently bought one for myself. I expect one of my children to inherit it when I die.
We actually go through a couple-three bottles of bitters a year. Lots of Manhattans, for sure, but in the summer they find their way into many “house cocktails”:
Fill a rocks glass with ice.
Two shots of gin or bourbon.
Two or three dashes bitters.
Top with Ginger Ale.
ETA: as others have noted, it’s also a nice addition to just plain ginger ale, especially to “calm things down” in the stomach after a big meal… but I find a Manhattan or “House Cocktail” serves the same purpose in addition to providing a buzz.