Angostura bitters

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A bottle of Angostura Aromatic Bitters

For other uses, see Angostura.

Angostura bitters, often simply referred to as angostura, is a concentrated bitters for food and beverages made of herbs and spices.

The recipe was developed as a tonic by German Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a Surgeon General in Simon Bolivar's army in Venezuela and began to sell it in 1824. Sigert was based in Ciudad Bolívar which was then known as Angostura, and used locally available ingredients. Perhaps he drew on the botanical knowledge of the local Amerindians, although the single ingredient named on the label is gentian.^[1] The exact formula is a closely guarded secret, with only five people knowing the whole recipe.^[2] The formula is still a secret, though it's no longer restricted to members of the Siegert family, but has been passed on to company executives.^[1]

Today, Angostura bitters are produced by various vendors, some of which add the bark of the angostura tree, possibly merely to make it legal to put the word "angostura" on the label, which is a registered trademark of House of Angostura in the country of Trinidad and Tobago.

As Angostura bitters are extremely concentrated, they are not normally drunk purely, but used to flavour drinks and food; usually only a few drops or dashes are used.

Angostura bitters are a key ingredient in many cocktails. Originally used to mask the flavour of quinine in tonic water along 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 bitter, and lemonade, and the Manhattan, made with whiskey and sweet (Italian) vermouth. In a Pisco Sour a few drops are sprinkled on top, mostly for decorative purposes. It is also the key ingredient in a Rum Cannonball.

Angostura bitters are renowned for having restorative properties.^{[citation needed]} It was reported to be a remedy for hiccups,^[3] and also can be used as a cure for an upset stomach. ^[4] Across many Caribbean nations, they are regarded as a necessary addition to any household medicine cabinet.^{[citation needed]}

Folklore claims the bitters have raised people from near-death or even flat-line states. Many Caribbean islanders and Venezuelans extole the bitters' medicinal use as a cure-all for conditions ranging from headaches and abdominal pain to diarrhea and influenza.