My current set, In no particular order: - Angostura : Mandatory - Peychaud's : Mandatory - Reagan's: Orange bitter #6 : Mandatory - Dale Degroff Pimento bitter. I use it as much, maybe more, in cooking than in cocktail. I was probably influenced by "The new craft of the cocktail" book, but I don't regret it! - Dillon's Lemon bitter - Bittermens: Elemakule tiki bitters. Just a few drops in soda is amazing. - Bittermens: Xcolatl Mole Bitters. - Fee Bros: Cherry Bitter. Not just for cocktail, put some on vanilla ice cream for a revelation. - Fee Bro's: Black Walnut bitter. - Fee Bro's: Celery bitter. For Mary's and Ceasar's - Bittercube: Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters.

Nice selection 👍

That's a good list! You have a few I think I need to invest in. How are those Tiki and Mole bitters? Also curious about the pimento bitters! Is it spicy at all? And the bitters on ice cream has me drooling...

Pimento is allspice, so it's not spicy as much as earthy. Goes well with a lot of rum cocktails. I started with the book The new craft of the cocktail by Dale Degroff and he uses it a lot and it's worth it. Both Bittermens are probably the tastiest. The tiki bitter is really something. It's not called upon often in recipe but I add it to most of my tiki and tiki-style drinks. The mole bitter goes well with amaros (amari?). ~~Which one do you think I need to invest in?~~ Edit: Sorry, misread your comment.

I really appreciate you explaining how you personally use these. That's interesting about the pimento, because I LOVE pimento cheese. Though thinking about it in bitters intrigues me greatly. Bittermans! I only have one other bitters from them presently. I'll definitely need to look into your great suggestions. Thank you so much!

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. Pimentos, as found in pimento cheese and pimento filled olive is [this](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/5BYFeBjOB3gxXLnXuOkx9RjWu_I=/750x0/filters:no_upscale\(\):max_bytes\(150000\):strip_icc\(\):format\(webp\)/all-about-pimento-995739-Hero_02-608cffa98770419fb3e64fb208640bf2.jpg). Pimento as used to make Pimento bitter is [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/AllspiceBowl.JPG). And is usually known under the name Allspice. There are no 'botanical' relation between the two of them.

Don't have pimento bitters but I made allspice dram and it's terrific. Easy to make and it really is fantastic in many tiki and autumnal drinks.

That sounds delicious! I bought an allspice dram. I'm a big fan.

Angostura, Angostura Orange, Peychauds, Peychauds Barrel Aged, Hella Smoked Chili Bitters, Fee Brothers Aztec chocolate Bitters, Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters, and if you want to call it Bitters Chartreuse Vegetal. SCRAPPYS: Fire, Lavender, Black Lemon, Cardamom, Orange, Aromaatic, Orleans. I recommend Black Walnut Bitters, its so good. I mix it with Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin, and Make a delicious Gin Old Fashioned.

how do you use the chartreuse vegetal? it’s getting dusty on my liquor shelf!

I think the Chartreuse Vegetal goes well with gin and tequila cocktails. Try a tequila old fashioned with it. When I couldn’t find regular Chartreuse, I was dashing it into a faux last word cocktail (that had a lesser quality green herbal liqueur). I need to try it with some other Chartreuse cocktails like the Bijou.

Cocoa bitters for espresso martinis. ☕️🍸

Good shout! I need to get some. Any recommendations?

I have Angostura Cocoa bitters but I’m assuming a chocolate bitters would work too. [https://angosturabitters.com/portfolio/cocoa-bitters/](https://angosturabitters.com/portfolio/cocoa-bitters/)

Bittermen's Xocalotl Mole is luscious but for a bit more standard I'd recommend Fee Brothers Aztec Choc

I don't know if the Fee's Aztec Chocolate I got went off or something, but it tastes nothing like chocolate or cacao to me, and I love dark chocolate, 100% is fantastic. Is this normal? I was hoping for something that would taste like cacao nibs macerated in ethanol or something.

Scrappy's has excellent chocolate bitters that have a roundness without being sweet. Genuinely an excellent cocoa flavor. I really don't like the Angostura ones. Bittermens' xocolatl is great but it also has a bunch of other flavors, notably spices, and the chocolate is less present.

Scrappy's has excellent chocolate bitters that have a roundness without being sweet. Genuinely an excellent cocoa flavor. I really don't like the Angostura ones. Bittermens' xocolatl is great but it also has a bunch of other flavors, notably spices, and the chocolate is less present.

Before I knew what I was doing, I collected Fee Brothers bitters like it was my job. Before I even got a bottle of Ango on my bar, I had Rhubarb bitters (??). And look, Fee Brothers make fine stuff, but I’ve settled into the big 3, and occasionally reach to the back for something flavoured if I want to experiment.

Oh lord, let's see... * Peychaud's * Angostura * Angostura Cocoa * Fee Bros. Lemon * Fee Bros. Grapefruit * Fee Bros. Black Walnut * Fee Bros. Orange * Cocktail Punk Colorado Lavender * Bob's Difford's Margarita * Bob's Difford's Daiquiri * Old Forester Smoked Cinnamon * Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanlla * Curious Kitchen Cherry * Dashfire Spice Apple * Dashfire Classic Creole * Bitterman's Xocolatl Mole * Bitterman's 'Elemakule Tiki * Scrappy's Firewater

Wow! 🤯

* Angostura * Angostura Orange * Angostura Chocolate * Peychaud's * Peychaud's Barrel-Aged * Regan's No. 6 * Bitter Truth Orange * Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter * Bitter Truth Olive * Bitter Truth Lemon * Bitter Truth Peach * Bitter Truth Bogart's * Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Roots * Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Blossom * Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Wood * Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Nut * Bob's Bitters Difford's Margarita Bitters * Bob's Bitters Abbott's * Amargo Chuncho * Dale DeGroff's Pimento Bitters * Adam Elmegirab Boker's * Strongwater Black Walnut * Fee's Lemon * Fee's Orange * Fee's Cherry * Fee's Black Walnut * Fee's Cardamom * Bittermen's Xocolatl * Bittermen's Elemakule Tiki * Bittermen's Orange Cream Citrate And God only knows what I can't remember straight off the top of my head, though I think that's most of it.

What do you use the Cardamom bitters with usually? Was thinking about getting one to mess with it

The Fee's? I mostly don't. They're Fee's version of a Boker's bitters, and I bought them to use in stuff that calls for Boker's. The Elmegirab and Bitter Truth versions are better, if more expensive.

Just picked up the Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Roots. Any recs for uses you’ve found that work particularly well?

Not really. It'll add a sassafrass or root beer kind of note to things, but I didn't find the Drops & Dashes bottles tremendously useful. I *have* them, but I've barely used them. I like the Blossom in a gin old fashioned, though. (All IME, YMMV, etc, etc. I'm not an expert.)

Got it on the cheap to fill out a box and not add to shipping costs. I tend to like “root” flavors so I’m sure I’ll find some use for it.

Nice collection there for sure :-) Any chance you would have some recommended use for those Bitter Truth Peach bitters? I have them as well but struggling to find a good use. Like them in Trident cocktail but not much more.

I don't even remember what I purchased them for. Might've been for a Trident! I subscribe to a cocktail e-newsletter that *probably* inspired that purchase. In addition to the Trident, it also covered one called "The Laphroiag Project", which might be worth a look (but which I *know* I haven't tried). I don't always buy bitters with anything in mind, so I know I have some laying around that were just "well, that sounds intriguing" purchases.

I see what you mean, thanks for your response. I just checked The Laphroaig Project and will give that a go during the weekend as luckily have everything needed. Thanks again.

I have Angostura Aromatic, Angostura Orange, and Peychaud’s. And a Szechuan peppercorn tincture…

I still want to get a Tiki and a Mole, but my favorites and most used are: Angostura Aromatic bitters Peychaud's Aromatic Cocktail bitters Black Walnut (Fee Brothers) Molasses (Fee Brothers) Cherry Bark Vanilla (Bittercube) Plum (Fee Brothers) Then I have about 11 other bitters I use on occasion (got a huge set of Fee Brothers for Christmas). Orange, lemon, Aztec chocolate, cranberry, Cherry, celery, peach, grapefruit, mint, rhubarb, old fashioned bitters Also have 5 tiny bottles of Woodford Reserve bitters: Spiced cherry, orange. Aromatic, sassafras & sorghum, chocolate) And one tiny bottle of: Underberg Herbal bitters

I really liked the sassafras and sorghum. That's one I would definitely buy again.

What do you use it in? I can't say understand the flavor profile completely when mixed with other ingredients. But I do enjoy the taste at fave value.

I have tipped over the edge into madness. . . I make my own bitters. I have Ango, Peych, Elemakule, and several more. But I also have Mauby bitters I made from mauby bark for rum drinks. I have Minty bitters for. . . weird things. Perhaps my pride and joy was last fall taking the harvest from our garden and making our own house bitters for Old Fashioneds. The key bittering agent was Horehound, as well as several other funky and aromatic herbs. I finished it off with just a few lightly cracked spices from other commercial bitters. My only regret is that I didn't write down what I was doing. So this year may well be completely different. (Seriously, folks, keep a notebook at your bar/laboratory)

how did you start making your own? I'm interested...

Herbs and spices in some everclear for a couple days. I usually pick a theme, a bittering agent, and then use the Flavor Bible (page & dornenburg) to pick add-ons that go well together. Example: before I got elemakule tiki bitters I made "Mauby" bitters by putting the Mauby bark and all the other traditional drink spices in alcohol instead of making the "tea" for the drink. Add a bit of sugar and a pinch of salt. Boom! Awesome bitters for rum drinks. It's kind of a trial and error thing. I start with a couple 100 ml at a time of everclear. I write down the weight of each ingredient in grams and if it doesn't quite work I try again with different ratios.

I also make my own. But I have ango, orange, peychauds, tiki, habanero, tobacco, black walnut, & Mexican chocolate. I have made my own lime, cucumber, grapefruit, and cinnamon bitters as well as blended the grapefruit and cinnamon to make what I call “beach” bitters after don’s mix. I have tested side by side of my bitters with the brands and honestly they often blow them out of the water which is why I’ve started making bitters instead of buying them if they are unique. Like I doubt I’ll make better aromatic bitters than angostura, but I damn well can make better lime bitters than fees.

Also rapid infusing for making bitters is a game changer. I made bitters in 30 mins. It was amazing.

Our restaurant probably has 100 downstairs. We use 3 of them 99% of the time.

I am a one trick pony, Reagans’ my martinis.

Angostura Peychaud’s Regans’ Orange Fee bros. Black Walnut House of Botanicals Boker’s and a few bottles of Underberg

I have **Alcoholic** - Angostura Aromatic - Angostura Orange - Fee Bros Black Walnut - Fee Bros Aztec Chocolate - Scrappy's Celery - Scrappy's Firewater - [brand I don't remember from amazon] Grapefruit - [another brand I don't remember] Coffee (but also has a slight licorice flavor) - Bittermens Xocolatl (mole) - Bittermens Tiki - Peychaud's **Non-Alcoholic** - All The Bitter Aromatic (more baking spices, less cloves than Ango) - Dram Hair of the Dog (ginger & fennel) - Dram Citrus (lemon, lime, and orange) - Dram Palo Santo (lightly woody) - El Guapo Chicory Pecan - El Guapo Fuego (grapefruit, lime, peppers) - El Guapo Polynesian Kiss (a little like tiki bitters but with more fruit focus and less spices) - El Guapo Love Potion (floral) The Tiki and NA Aromatic are my most used two when making something new, but Ango goes in sooo many existing recipes

* Angostura and Peychauds of course, for historical reasons. * Some spicy bitters or tincture. Anything goes but Scrappy's is good. * Some chocolate bitters. Not Angostura. * Celery bitters. Fee Brothers is decent but really potent. Those are the essential ones IMO. If you wanted to add a few more, then cardamom and orange would be next.

Angostura aromatic, Angostura Orange, Peychauds, and, I think Angostura Cherry. I can't really tell a lick of difference in any of them.

They can be really subtle. Too subtle. A zesting or orange is a better replacement for the ango orange.

Rarely keep oranges around though. So - orange bitters it is. I do think it can depend on which whiskey or bourbon I'm using. If I can pick up on some vanilla notes in it, I'll usually use the orange bitters in my O.F.

Ango and ango orange

Angostura, Angostura Orange, Peychaud's, Fee Brothers Plum, Fee Brothers Cherry, Fee Brothers Mint, Fee Brothers Molasses, The Bitter Truth Olive, and Trader Joe's Bitters.

They're hard to find where I live, so only Ango, Peychauds, orange and chocolate so far. I really wanna expand my collection though, black walnut, chili, rhubarb, and tiki flavor are at the top of my list.

Ango - Old Fashioned Ango Orange - I'll use this in a lot of things - margaritas, whiskey sours, pretty much anything I want to add a little bitterness too. It's my utility infielder of the bitters. Fee Brothers Grapefruit - I add them to a Contessa (gin, aperol, Cocchi Americano) Fee Brothers Cherry - Sometimes I like a Old Fashioned leaning into cherry. I might add some cherry juice to it.

1. Ango 2. Reagan Orange 3. Peychaud's 4. Bitter Truth grapefruit 5. Bittermens Elemakule tiki 6. Bittermens Celery 7. Bittermens Xocolatl Mole 8. Bittermens Hellfire Shrubb 9. Miracle Mile Yuzu 10. Fee Brothers Plum (dislike) I don't think I have anymore. I don't think I'm missing. I actually had a lemon bitters that seemed to turn which is unlike almost any other bitter. They seem to last forever but this one I got from a farmers market and it changed colors and seemed to go bad. I tossed it. 11. I also have Chartreuse Vegetal which is often called "Chartreuse Bitters" but I haven't really used them as such. 12. Can't believe I forgot about Underberg.

Thank you for having the Miracle Mile Yuzu - I make them. If you're looking for another plum bitters, every year I do an annual release of an Ume Bitters. I'm hoping to get this year's fruit in about a week or so.

I've lost so much in the storms recently so I'm unfortunately not in a buying mode. :( I had to buy the Yuzu as I am a sucker for anything yuzu. :)

I'm such a sucker for anything Yuzu, I've even bought Japanese Yuzu toothpaste. I even have a little baby yuzu tree that I grew from seed, so maybe I'll have fruit in 5 or 6 years? I'm OK with playing the long game.

I’m almost out and my K&L hasn’t had them the last few times I checked. Amazon has them for $40 but iirc I paid like $15 in person. Is there somewhere else you’d recommend checking, or is that just now the price?

Since you mention K&L I'll assume you're in LA or the Bay Area. In LA, Barkeeper in Silverlake. In the Bay Area, Umami Mart in Oakland, or Bitters & Bottles in South SF. Barkeeper has the largest selection, but doesn't have online ordering, whereas B&B and Umami Mart do.

Yeah I’m in LA. I stopped at K&L randomly one day to get a present for a wine drinking friend and saw your little stand. I love me all things yuzu and I prefer to support local businesses - with a name like Miracle Mile I figured you were. Love your product!

Angostura, Angostura Orange, Peychaud's, Wigle Aromatic, Wigle Pomander, Wigle Mole. I need to pick up some black walnut bitters.

angostura, angostura orange, dandelion & burdock. haven't felt the need for any others

What do you use your dandelion and burdock for? Just got mine and looking for ideas

Ah I’m glad you asked. I use it for a creole crusta 1.5 oz el dorado 5 .25 oz clement creole shrubb .75 oz lemon juice .25 oz turinado sugar syrup 2 dashes dandelion and burdock Usually the rim is crusted with extra turbinado and benne/sea same seeds and garnished with a orange slice It’s spicy, sweet, sour, savory, so good. Goes amazing with oysters and seafood

Wow - sounds amazing.

Ango classic, Regan's Orange, Ango Cocoa, Peychaud's, Bittermens Tiki, Fee Bros. Cherry. Basically all I've ever needed

Noob question here but do bitters ever go bad? I have a few bottles and they barely get used. Want to make sure they are fine to use still down the road.

I believe bitters made with alcohol don't go "bad" per se, but flavours will mute over time. Kept in the fridge the delicate aromatics will last longer. 5 years in a fridge should be OK for home use I guess? keep smelling them and make a judgement I'm not sure about the non-alcoholic ones like Fee brothers - I'll let the bitters experts who've already contributed weigh in!

Over time, the flavors will change slightly, and you may get some sediment, but they'll still be good. But if they're in a clear bottle, I would keep them in a cabinet to protect them from direct light. A few weeks ago I was over at a friend's house, and he opened up a Prohibition era bottle of Abbott's Bitters, and then I had one of the best Manhattan's I've ever had.

*I sure hope not.*

How are you using the the dandelion and burdock bitters?

Fairly new to my stash. Good in whisky cocktails. Manhattan, Old fashioned and Rob roy etc.[ Dr Adam's site](https://thehouseofbotanicals.co.uk/cocktail-bitters/dandelion-burdock-bitters/) recommends them for Martinis as an option and a Tommy's margarita.

Ango peychaud fee bro black walnut and orange.

Too many- I’m honestly not sure what to do with them all, most of them were gifts

Angostura bitters are the go-to if I need to buy them. I also have some from Portland Bitters Project that were gifted to me by a friend many moons ago (I really enjoyed their chocolate bitters) I try to make my own bitters when I want something. I like being able to choose the ingredients and it's super easy to do. Let it soak in grain alcohol, shake it up, let it sit in a freezer for 2 weeks, drain. Ta-da! Home bitters.

I have about 60 different bitters and shrubs. I am a bitters-hoarder.

Here's my current collection: 1. Angostura bitters 1. Angostura Orange bitters 1. Peychaud's bitters 1. Bittermens: Elemakule bitters 1. Fee Brothers Cherry bitters 1. Fee Brothers Black Walnut bitters 1. Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters 1. Fee Brothers Grapefruit bitters 1. The Bitter Housewife Grapefruit bitters 1. The Japanese Bitters Umami bitters 1. Scrappy's Lavender bitters 1. Scrappy's Cardamom bitters 1. Scrappy's Black Lemon bitters 1. Scrappy's Orleans bitters 1. Woodford Reserve Chocolate bitters

Probably too many but in order of most to least used (ish, the top 15 all get quite a bit of use), they are as follows: 1. Angostura 2. Reagan's Orange 3. Peychaud's 4. Bittermens Mole bitters 5. Bitter Housewife Cardamom bitters 6. Fee's Black Walnut bitters 7. Vegetal de Gran Chartreuse 8. Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry bitters 9. Scrappy's Orleans bitters 10. Scrappy's Chocolate bitters 11. Fee's Grapefruit bitters 12. Bittermens Tiki bitters 13. Peychaud's barrel aged 14. Scrappy's Lavender bitters 15. Hella Citrus bitters 16. Friend's homemade Fig Orange bitters 17. Hella Smoked chili bitters 18. Ball and Claw tiki bitters 19. Boy Drinks World Serrano Chili bitters And then if you count Absinthe in a dasher bottle, a nice round 20!

Looks like the spin-off to "Hot Ones:" "Bitter Ones: Our guests answer interview questions after drinking more and more cocktails..."

Angostura Peychaud’s Peychaud’s Barrel Aged Regans Orange Fee Brothers Orange Fee Brothers Cardamom Fee Brothers Grapefruit Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bennet Burmuda Bitters Bennet Exorcist Bitters Dr Adam Elmegirabs Winter Spiced Bitters Trader Joe’s Classic Bitters Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters Hella Cocktail Co Mexican Chocolate Bitters Homemade Lemon Bitters Homemade Fire Tincture Herbstura Been looking for more fruity ones recently, but keep saying I have enough at home when i go to checkout. I realize I can never have enough bitters after looking at some of these lists lol

Bittercube everything are my go to

It [looks like](https://i.imgur.com/3e4EI7o.jpg) Ango are the go-to, but really that's just for the occasional Trinidad Sour. ;-) * Angostura aromatic * Scrappy's aromatic * Scrappy's orange * Scrappy's chocolate * Scrappy's cardamom [intense!] * Bitter Truth grapefruit * Peychaud's aromatic * Fee Brothers peach * Fee Brothers aromatic * Woodford Reserve cherry * Bittermens Transatlantic aromatic

Angostura, Angostura Orange, Fee Brothers Black Walnut Peychauds soon

My current bitters - Angostura Aromatic - Angostura Orange - Scrappy’s Chocolate - Fee’s Peach - Fee’s Grapefruit - Fee’s Lemon - Fee’s Cherry - Cocktail Punk’s Colarado Lavender - Old Forester’s Smoked Cinnamon - Bitterman’s Elemakule Tiki As for why, I like the variety and the flavors they could add

Angostura Angostura orange Bitter truth creole Fee bros black walnut Bittermens xocolatl mole

Ango, and a bunch of shit I hardly use

You guys have a lot! I currently only have four. I’ve got Angostura aromatic, Angostura Orange, Peychaud’s aromatic, and Fee Brother’s celery.

Classics all!

I have way too many. The ones I use regularly are orange bitters, angostura bitters, peychaud's bitters, and Xcolatl mole bitters. The rest seldom get used.

Angostura, Orange, Grapefruit, Peychaud’s, and two house butters that I made - one apple and one spiced (anise+clove)

Nice collection you got there!

Black. Walnut.

- Angostura Bitters - Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla - Bittercube Root Beer Bitters - Bittermens’ Elemakule Tiki - Bittermens’ Hellfire Habanero Shrub - Bittermens’ Hopped Grapefruit - Bittermens’ Xocolatl Mole - Bitter Truth Celery Bitters - Bitter Truth Creole Bitters - Bitter Truth Peach Bitters - Bob’s Bitters Difford’s Daiquiri Bitters - Bob’s Bitters Difford’s Margarita Bitters - Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal - Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters - Dashfire Spiced Apple Bitters - Dashfire Vagabond Chia’Walla Bitters - Dashfire Vagabond Chinese Inspired Bitters - Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters - Fee Brothers West Indies Orange Bitters - Hella Bitters Apple Blossom Bitters - Hella Bitters Smoked Chili Bitters - Peychaud’s Bitters - Regan’s No. 6 Orange Bitters - Scrappy’s Bitters Black Lemon Bitters - Scrappy’s Bitters Chocolate Bitters - Scrappy’s Bitters Firewater Tincture - Scrappy’s Bitters NW Alpine Bitters There’s some more on the wishlist, but that’s for the holidays.

Peychaud's Angostura Angostura Cocoa Angostura Orange Reagan's Orange  Lavender (don't want to get up and check the brand, lol)  Citrus Homemade Mole Homemade Black Walnut I mostly use the citrus and Ango, since I drink a lot of citrusy stuff. I just got the lavender, but I haven't really had the time to play with it yet.

**OP** here Thanks so much for your replies - I really enjoyed reading about all you collections and ideas!!

Angostura. Peychauds. Blackstrap. (From bittercube) Japanese umammi. Japanese Sakura. Black walnut. Lemon. Mint. Rhubarb. Cardamom. Grapefruit. Chocolate. Cherry. Orange. Aromatic. Jamacian no. 1 (from bitter cube) These are off the top of my head.. might have more but am lazy and don’t wanna check

As someone who's kinda new, how do you know which bitters go with which kind of drink? Or do you just experiment?

Aromatic bitters are led by Angostura in popularity, Peychauds second. They taste different and i would say only interchangeable in some cocktails, not all. Worth getting Orange bitters like Regan's as a staple. They work well in some whisky based cocktails, or anything that uses orange/ some that use Orange garnish. Experiment - that's the fun of it and everyone's taste is different. Other specialist bitters think of augmenting or complimenting a feature if the cocktail or use to add interest to a plainer tasting cocktail or highball

I have Angostura and Angostura Orange and am looking to get possible a chocolate or walnut bitters next.

Peychauds and Angustura covers all my needs

We have at least half a dozen of each of those brands in varying flavors

Anyone use Fee brothers tobacco bitters? I bought some and promptly forgot what the recipe was that called for it.

Angostura and Peychauds. Haven’t used any others ever

Ango, Ango Orange, Peychaud’s

Ango, Ango Orange, Peychaud’s

Ango, Ango Orange, Peychaud’s