Often the smallest bottles on a bar, and poured in the smallest quantities, cocktail bitters don’t let that stop them from standing out in a cocktail. Available in a vast variety of styles, from chocolate to grapefruit, and used to create balance while adding a burst of flavour, they are generally described as the equivalent of salt and pepper in cooking. One brand which dominates the category is Trinidadian brand Angostura, which continues to prove its popularity, ranking bestselling and top trending cocktail bitters brand in the Drinks International Brands Report 2023. Sophie Charles-Barber, Angostura executive marketing manager, says that “good cocktail bitters should be versatile, able to enhance a range of different drinks and add flavour and balance to anything”.

Bitters have been around for a long time, and with Angostura celebrating its 200th anniversary next year, it’s safe to say they are a seasoned pro – no pun intended – in the bitters category. However, over the years many other brands have come to the fore, such as The Bitter Truth. It was founded in 2006 by two German bartenders from Munich, Alexander Hauck and Stephan Berg, who says they “shared a love for classic cocktails and a passion for lost cocktail ingredients”, and so decided to create the brand, which most recently ranked as second top trending and third bestselling cocktail bitters brand in the DI Brands Report.

“Cocktail bitters are the defining ingredient for a drink to be called a cocktail,” says Berg, and he’s not wrong. On 13 May 1806, an edition of The Balance & Columbian Repository (Hudson, NY) published a letter from a reader who was confused by the new term ‘cocktail’, which had only come about a few years prior. They requested an explanation from the editor, who responded by defining a cocktail as: “A stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters. It is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head.” Berg goes on to add that, “without cocktail bitters, a drink is not a cocktail, but a mixed drink,” and that bitters add “balance, complexity and flavour to your drinks.” Berg also notes: “Bitters should not take the leading role in a cocktail, it should fade away once the cocktail has been consumed and not linger on your tongue or affect the consumer’s follow up drink. Bitters are kind of a magical ingredient that can turn an average cocktail into a great one.”

Going back to that term ‘bittered sling’, it was the inspiration for a Canadian brand co-founded by chef Jonathan Chovancek and bartender and sommelier Lauren Mote. Bittered Sling “celebrates what beautiful ingredients can provide the palate, plate, and potion, and is represented as the first internationally distributed Canadian bitters line”, says Chovancek.

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Branching out

Cocktail bitters remain popular – after all, they are the defining ingredient for a cocktail to be just that, a cocktail. The on-trade is a key driving force in the category’s success, as Berg notes. “On-trade remains our biggest driver, although retail is ‘catching up’. We experience worldwide growth and are very grateful for that. Covid, which at first looked like a risk to the industry, has proven to be a catalyst if one, as a brand, had the right strategy and execution. We believe that this is only the start, and that the future is bright.”

Covid and its lockdowns ushered in the home mixology trend, which has been beneficial to bitters as people became more open to experimentation in their drinks. Berg adds this was something they “deliberately worked on” as “one cannot just restrict oneself to bartenders, although they are extremely important to us, in the end, also in HoReCa/on-trade, it is the consumer who makes the call”. This boost to knowledge of the category from those who don’t necessarily work directly in mixology means bitters, as Berg says, are “not only for the in-the-know venues anymore, but also more mainstream chains that are following this path as well as consumers themselves”.

Angostura, which is available in 170 countries, has always had a strong presence in the on-trade as Charles-Barber notes it “has always been an important part of Angostura’s success”. The brand has also witnessed a similar recovery post-pandemic. “Seeing the bottles behind bars the world over is a great source of pride for any Trini. We’ve seen a strong recovery in the on-premise post-pandemic and a surge of orders as bars restock their staples,” says Charles-Barber.

A new wave

The category is currently seeing a few different trends. The interest in low and no-alcohol as consumers are more mindful about what they drink, and with this comes awareness about sustainability and where ingredients are sourced. Charles-Barber says: “Low and no-alcohol offerings are increasingly calling for bitters to balance out and boost the missing flavour. For example, Angostura has long been associated with long, refreshing adult drinks in Australia – lemon, lime and bitters is an institution here and was born as a golf course drink.

“It’s perhaps no wonder that Angostura’s growth here is now being led by the explosion of low and no-alcohol cocktails, where bitters have captured the imagination of those looking to build and bind flavours in this new wave,” Charles-Barber continues.

The Bittered Sling has also noticed this trend of people being mindful about what they consume and the ingredients used. Chovancek notes: “People are using more bitters in a classic way and looking for sustainability and traceability in where ingredients are sourced.” The Bittered Sling keeps this in mind with its handmade, small-batch production process, which uses water, Canadian non-GMO grain spirit, and whole botanicals. Chovancek adds: “Before being shipped to our global distributors, the Bittered Sling product is macerated, naturally filtered, bottled, and labelled in an allergen-free, government-regulated facility in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. All botanicals, fruits, barks, and herbs are sourced from Fairtrade suppliers. We only use whole botanicals and do not use essences, extracts, colouring, sugars or sweeteners in our process.”

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Another trend being noticed is, as Charles-Barber puts it, “an increased fusion of the bar kitchen”. Bar and kitchen teams are working much more closely to “create not only culinary cocktails and edible garnishes, but incorporating more fresh ingredients and garden herbs into cocktails – think ginger and lemon,” says Charles-Barber.

“Angostura has such a key role in binding food flavours together here in the Caribbean and we’re starting to see that play out in other parts of the world as bartenders are influencing chefs, just as chefs have been influencing bartenders for many years,” CharlesBarber continues. “Lots of good things come out of this bar kitchen concept and huge opportunities for lots of flavour and reduced waste.”

Bittered Sling is a brand that began with this already in mind. Chovancek says he and Mote “developed recipes and applications specifically for the bitters range to become the bridge between the culinary arts and modern cocktails”.

Bitters and the culinary world have a harmonious relationship, as Chovancek explains: “The flavour of bitter activates the appetite and aids in digestion, and was used for centuries in all cultures frequently for these reasons, before becoming famous in classic cocktails. Bitters add the missing ingredient to drinks, adding the vital flavour characteristic to make balanced drinks.”

Looking ahead

With the category continuing to grow, Berg says The Bitter Truth will “be at the forefront of trying to drive that growth”. He adds:
“We encourage any brand to help build the market.

“We always have and do believe in ourselves and where we can take the category, as one of the first movers that has been instrumental in building it. After all, we are the oldest bartender-owned spirit brand in the world. We have a reputation to live up to and we challenge ourselves every day to perform our best,” says Berg.

With its “classic” flavours of aromatic, chocolate and orange still its most sought-after, The Bitter Truth is also seeing “steep” growth with its newer flavours such as cucumber, olive, grapefruit and peach. Berg adds: “The width of our range, with 12 distinct flavours, always gives us the possibility to cater to regional trends.”

Angostura is also experiencing the category boost, with Charles-Barber reporting “sales in the Caribbean, North America, Australia and EMEA all experiencing double digit-growth”. She adds: “We’ve been working hard to maintain and increase our global bitters market share of 84% and are focused on continuing our global expansion.” The brand also has plans to launch Angostura Orange bitters and Angostura Cocoa bitters in South Africa, a key EMEA market for it.

The Bittered Sling notes its growth will include working with young bartenders. Chovancek says: “We see in the on-trade a deeper understanding with young bartenders, realising the power and importance of having bitters in their cocktail recipes.

“We continue to grow into new markets, still 100% owned by the founders and managed in partnerships with great distribution partners, with North America continuing to be our biggest opportunity.”