benefits of bitters

From the LTH Media Digest:

"Handcrafted bitters making waves...LTH'er Mike Nagrant reports that even though "they have been here for years," cocktail bitters are enjoying a renaissance, as hand-crafted varieties are becoming more widely available."

After reading this article in the paper, I went to look up bitters in The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer, Spirits, & Liquors (fanTAStic book to have on hand, by the way). Between the two, there are several mentions of bitters being an "aid to digestion," but I'm not clear on what that means. Do bitters settle an upset stomach, or actually influence digestion somehow, farther down the line, so to speak?

Bitters can serve two distinct purposes:

1. As far as digestion, it can very well do that. I use bitters + soda water to help when I have an upset stomach and it works wonderfully.

2. Now, for what I use my bitters for in my cocktails. Here's what I keep in my cabinet:

Angostura- a set of bitters that continues to go downhill and no longer has angostura bark in them, but the add a very distinct bitter flavor and aromatic essence that balances out a cocktail very well.

Fee Brothers Orange- Has the oil of bitter orange in it- adds a wonderful flavor to an Old Fashioned plus when mixed with orange zest and a squeeze of a wedge of orange makes the perfect flavor.

Sazerac Peychaud- Let's just say it's the perfect NOLA bitters. I use this a lot in Manhattans and well....sazeracs.

I know I've got about 3-4 other bitters in my cabinet, but let's just say this- bitters add a touch of flavor but a LOT of aromatic essence to a cocktail.

Note that Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Bitters do contain angostura bark. Also, if you can find a bottle, Regan's Orange Bitters are another excellent choice - I have a dwindling bottle of it, along with the Fee's orange.

Fee's also has peach, lemon, and mint bitters; I keep the peach on hand as well, but haven't seen or tried the other two. I always keep Peychaud's on hand as well.

Then there is another whole class of bitters: beverage bitters that are often consumed as-is or on the rocks. Campari would be a good example of this, along with a variety of French amers and Italian amari. Vermouth and other aromatized wines (Lillet, Dubonnet, etc.) arguably fit this category as well, and Punt e Mes is a vermouth that is spiked with extra bitters.