I’ll admit it took me a while to appreciate the place that bitters occupies among bottles in my home bar.  Recipes called for them and I’d use them but it was out of some sort of detached necessity.  Only when I started to explore more classic cocktails and cocktails with a short list of ingredients that included bitters did I appreciate them more.

I listed this bottle as “aromatic bitters” but could probably have been specific to call out Angostura bitters, which is the gold standard.  You’ll use these in drinks ranging from Manhattans to a number of Tiki drinks, so keep them well stocked.  As your bar grows, you can also start to add other bitters.  Liquor stores will typically carry a wide range of flavors, which you can experiment with.  The next bottle I suggest buying is Orange Bitters and another that I’ve enjoyed using is Black Walnut Bitters, which adds an almost smoky element to drinks.  Have fun exploring but be sure to never run out of Angostura!