The Sweet Truth about Bitters
WE LOVE BITTERS IN A COCKTAIL RECIPE. An Angostura bitters adds spice, warm, and continuity to a drink. An orange bitters adds not only citrus, but dimension that can't be achieved with fresh orange juice or an orange twist alone. Some of the early Martini recipes called for the addition of orange bitters to counteract the sweetnes of Old Tom Gin or the unrefined quality of earlier gins. Until now, the only game in town was Fee Brothers' Orange Bitters (www.fee brothers.com). A wonderful general-purpose orange bitters, we use Fee Brothers bitters in a number of cocktails that need a serious orange clout without the added sugar Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec put into a drink.
But we were more than ecstatic when we first tasted Gary Regan's spicy orange bitters. There are layers of orange flavour--Seville oranges, Valencia oranges--blended with woody, floral, and hot spices. The final result not only provides the taste beyond citrus that can be achieved with a variety of orange peels and spices.
How do you acquire this miraculous brew? Go to Dean & Deluca in New York or visit the Buffalo Trace Gift Shop (www.buffalotrace.com), click On the Gift Shop, then go to Foods>Mixes. There it will be for $3.50 a bottle.
Now, when you get a bottle, here are a few cocktails to try:
Buster Brown
1.5 oz Maker's Mark Bourbon
0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
1 dash Regans' Orange Bitters
0.25 tsp sugar
Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange slice.
Champagne Cocktail
Place 1 sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute. Shake 3 dashes of Regans' Orange Bitters onto the sugar cube. Fill the flute with a citrusy champagne such as Piper Heidseick or Veuve Cliquot. Garnish with an orange slice.
Tennessee Velvet
1.5 oz Plymouth Gin
0.5 oz fresh pineapple juice
1 splash Cointreau
3 dashes Regans' Orange Bitters
Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a pineapple slice.
O.E.
2 oz Plymouth Gin
2 oz Lillet Blanc
3 dashes Regans' Orange Bitters
Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
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Friday, June 10, 2005
