Cocktail bitters in India are signalling a grown-up bar culture

Making a cocktail isn’t just about selecting the right spirit, mixer, and garnish anymore. It’s about elevating the drink with bitters that add aromatic depth and structure. As the country’s cocktail culture grows, cocktail bitters in India have become essential ingredients that shape balance, aroma, and finish.

“Bitters are to cocktails what salt is to food–they enhance the flavour of the drink without overpowering it,” says Nitin Tewari, mixologist and founder, BarTrender & Bar Kala Academy. Once treated as obscure bar tools, cocktail bitters in India are now central to how premium bars build drinks as well as how home bartenders experiment.

From medicine to luxury cocktail ingredient

Bitters began as medicinal herbal tinctures infused with alcohol and used to treat digestive issues. Their transition into cocktail culture was gradual. They were first used to soften strong spirits and round out flavours of a drink.  

“Gin was created from junipers and a version of the Jägermeister was once a medicine in Germany when herbs good for health were infused in alcohol and drops given as medication,” adds Tewari. 

During Prohibition in the United States, when fresh ingredients were scarce  and alcohol was restricted, hidden bars relied on bitters to make drinks taste more complex. Once sold in apothecaries, bitters are now associated with luxury spirits and premium cocktail craft.

India initially depended on international brands of bitters like Fee Brothers and Angostura. The arrival of Indian craft bitters brands marks a positive shift toward a domestic mixology ecosystem.

Why cocktail bitters matter in India’s premium bar scene

Bitters usually carry a high ABV (alcohol by volume), but historically sat outside the strict excise classifications, which shaped their availability. Angostura bitters disappeared from the Indian market for 11 years due to registration concerns and returned only in January 2026—a reminder of how tightly regulated luxury cocktail ingredients can be. 

Most bitters fall into three categories: Aromatic bitters with spice-forward profiles, citrus-forward Orange bitters, and Cacao Bitters built around chocolate notes. These categories form the backbone of professional cocktail programmes across high-end bars in India.

How cocktail bitters in India are made and experimented with 

Bitters are typically built on the Angelica or Jacynthia root. Fay Antoin Barretto, a Mumbai-based mixologist, consultant, and founder of Mr. Bartender & The Crew, produces house bitters including cherry, grapefruit, and citrus bitters, and even Bloody Mary variants.  

 “Bitters are to cocktails what salt is to food” - Nitin Tewari

“Neutral grain spirits like 100-proof (50% ABV) vodka or any high-proof alcohol make for the primary, flavourless base that are used for extracting botanicals in bitters,” says Barretto, who uses Angelica root and elements like liquorice, mace, coriander seeds, and nutmeg as the base with vodka, and then employs the sous vide method along with Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce and dried cherry tomatoes or sundried tomatoes. It’s otherwise steeped for 14 days.  

This experimental approach mirrors a broader trend in Indian cocktail culture where craft bitters are treated as creative tools rather than fixed formulas. 

The new flavour frontier of cocktail bitters

Flavour experimentation is pushing bitters beyond tradition. For instance, date syrup paired with walnut bitters can transform an Old Fashioned. “Umami-flavoured bitters using savoury elements like pickles, mushrooms, and fish, are getting popular,” says Barretto, who is developing fish-scale bitters variants that use natural bitterness layered with aromatics.

“Umami-flavoured bitters using savoury elements like pickles, mushrooms, and fish are getting popular” - Fay Antoin Barretto

Tewari’s Masala Chai bitters follow the same logic. He infused masala chai tea bags in vodka and sugar. “The tannins in the tea started making the liquid bitter. One teaspoon in a Tom Collins is enough to make the drink taste like masala chai,” he explains. 

These experiments signal how cocktail bitters in India are evolving into a playground for luxury mixology.

Best cocktail bitters brands in India

1. Angostura

One of the most recognisable cocktail bitters brands in India, this premium brand was launched in 1824 by Dr Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert in Venezuela as a medicinal tonic for stomach ailments. By 1875, the family business moved to Trinidad and bitters were being manufactured in Port of Spain, Trinidad. 

The brand has a range of aromatic bitters which work well with Bourbon, whiskey, rye, and rum. Their orange bitters work well with vodka, gin, tequila, and light-coloured spirits; the cocoa bitters with aged spirits, cognac, brandy, sweet vermouth, coffee, and chocolate. 

They also have limited edition variants, like the 200-year Anniversary Limited Edition bitters that pair well with tequila and rum.  

Website: Angosturabitters.com

Price: ₹ 2,400 for 200ml

2. Bab Louie & Co. 

Among the few Indian craft cocktail bitters brands, Bab Louie & Co. has hand-crafted, non-alcoholic options including Aromatic Spiced, Orange, Cherry, and Coffee bitters. Founded in 2020, the brand offers 15 botanicals, including some that have been aged in wooden oak barrels. Their Orange bitters work in drinks like Old Fashioned and Negroni, their Smoked Cherry bitters are ideal to make a Manhattan, and their Coffee bitters in espresso martinis. They also offer a garnish pack with dehydrated citrus fruits, herbs, and spices, besides  cocktail kits. 

Website: Bablouie.com

Price: ₹429 onwards 

3. The Bitter Truth

A favourite among premium bars using imported cocktail bitters, The Bitter Truth was founded in 2006 and makes Orange, Lemon, Chocolate, Celery, Grapefruit, and Aromatic bitters. Imported from Munich, they also have some unique bitters options like Creole, Peach, Cucumber, and Olive, which set them apart from the other international brands imported in India. The brand also makes Traveler’s Set with five different flavours as well as a variety of liqueurs like Apricot Liqueur, Violet Liqueur, Elderflower Liqueur, Golden Falernum, and Pimento Dram. 

Website: The-bitter-truth.com

Price: ₹ 2,399 onwards

4. Peychaud's Bitters

Originally created in the 1850s by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary who travelled from the French colony of Saint-Domingue to New Orleans, the brand is known for its New Orleans-style bitters that became essential for the Sazerac cocktail, lending the cognac/whiskey drink a light body and floral notes. Their range of bitters includes the Classic Cherry with 35% ABV and notes of anise, cherry and mint, as well as a variety of Peychaud's Barrel-Aged Bitters which are slightly more refined and rich besides having a smoother taste due to the aging. They also have cocktail syrups which are similar to mixers. 

Website: Sazerac.com

Price: $27.95 (₹ 2,552.66)

5. Spice Route 

Launched in 2024, this brand of bitters by Goa-based Underdog Tipple Distillers makes their own alcoholic bitters like the Classic Spice Route Aromatic, a complex blend of rich, spiced notes. But it’s their Gondhoraj variant, with an ABV of 42.8%, that stands out due to its citrus-forward approach highlighting Gondhoraj lime along with cardamom. Though they only have two variants as of now, the brand is more focussed on making bitters more affordable in India. 

Website: Instagram.com/Spiceroutebitters/

Price: ₹999 onwards  

6. Fee Brothers

Launched about 160 years ago in New York City, when Fee Brothers went from being a family deli into liquor business. Their range includes about 22 types of bitters including Molasses, and ones like Peach, Plum, Rhubarb, Toasted Almond, and West Indian Orange. It’s their bitters aged in whiskey barrels that stand out due to the smokiness; the freshly emptied barrels lend their charred interiors to build up the flavour of the bitters. 

Website: Feebrothers.com

Price: $26.95 (₹ 2,457) onwards 

How cocktail bitters in India are driving experimental in luxury drinks

Besides offering room for experimentation, cocktail bitters can also shape low ABV drinks because they function as concentrated flavouring added in drops. Cocktail bitters in India are increasingly used to build flavour without increasing alcohol volume. “Today, non-alcoholic bitters made using oils and glycerine are also being manufactured,” says Barretto. 

Bitters are not inexpensive, costing around ₹10 per ml, which positions them as premium ingredients in luxury spirits and mixed drinks. “Bitters are collectibles and not easily available. They also aren’t a high volume game for brands,” says Tewari. 

The fundamental rule, then, is restraint. A few drops are enough. Too much can overwhelm a drink. “You can’t make an Old Fashioned without bitters. In an Old Fashioned—which has whiskey, sugar, and water—just whiskey and water is too bland, and whiskey with sugar, too sweet. Bitters are added to the drink to balance out the sweetness and add some spice, besides giving more body, character, and depth to the drink,” says Tewari. 

As India’s cocktail culture matures, bitters are shifting from garnish to architecture. They are no longer optional accents but structural elements in modern mixology.