Why cocktail bitters in India suddenly matter to serious drinkers

Both cocktails and mocktails—whether served in bars or made at home in India—are leaning on bitters to enhance flavour. We pick six brands that will elevate your drink

Angostura

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.

Bab Louie & Co.

The brand offers hand-crafted, non-alcoholic options including Aromatic Spiced, Orange, Cherry, and Coffee bitters. 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.

The Bitter Truth

Imported from Munich, this brand offers unique bitters options like Creole, Peach, Cucumber, and Olive. They 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.

Peychaud's Bitters

This brand's makes bitters like 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.

Fee Brothers

This New York brand has bitters in flavours like Molasses, besides 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.

Spice Route

The Goan brand offers bitters like Classic Spice Route Aromatic, is known for their Gondhoraj variant, with an ABV of 42.8%, that stands out due to its citrus-forward approach highlighting Gondhoraj lime along with cardamom.

The golden rule for using bitters

Bitters are to cocktails what salt is to food–they enhance the flavour of the drink without overpowering it. The fundamental rule, then, is restraint. A few drops are enough. Too much can overwhelm a drink.