History
The recipe was developed as a tonic by German Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert (died 1870), a Surgeon General in Simon Bolivar's army in Venezuela, who began to sell it in 1824 and established a distillery for the purpose in 1830. Siegert was based in the town of Angostura, now Ciudad Bolívar, and used locally available ingredients, perhaps aided by botanical knowledge of the local Amerindians. The product was sold abroad from 1853 and in 1875 the plant was moved from Ciudad Bolivar to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where it remains. Angostura won a medal at the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien. The medal is still depicted on the oversized label, along with reverse which shows Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in profile.
The exact formula is a closely guarded secret, with only five people knowing the whole recipe.
Angostura bitters are extremely concentrated but are an acquired taste and, though 44.7% alcohol by volume, are not normally drunk pure, but used in small amounts as flavouring.
Angostura bitters are a key ingredient in many cocktails. Originally used to mask the flavour of quinine in tonic water, itself usually served with gin, the mix stuck in the form of a Pink Gin, and is also used in many other alcoholic cocktails such as Long vodka, consisting of vodka, Angostura bitters, and lemonade. In the United States, it is best known for its use in whiskey cocktails: the Old Fashioned, made with whiskey, bitters, sugar, and soda water, and The Manhattan, made usually with rye whiskey and sweet vermouth. In a Pisco Sour a few drops are sprinkled on top of the foam, both for aroma and decoration. In a Champagne Cocktail a few drops of bitters are added to a sugar cube. Though not in the classic recipe, bartenders sometimes add more flavor to the Mojito cocktail by sprinkling a few drops of Angostura bitter on top. Bitters can also be used in soft drinks; a common non-alcoholic drink served in Australian and New Zealand pubs is lemon, lime and bitters.
Angostura Bitters Drink Guide, a promotional booklet of 1908, was reprinted in 2008 with a new introduction by Ross Bolton.
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