Bitters
This is another one of those articles that is easy to write, but causes conflict among the family of sites here at omnigeek.org. In case you don't know, there is another tab at the top of the page you are on that is a little more free form, and deals with thoughts pertaining to bourbon. Just look at the top and click on the alphageek's thoughts if you are interested. We are tired of the use of links on our site, and statistics show you don't click on the links anyway, so we will save some setup time and forgo most, but not all, links.
So what is the problem? We are talking about bitters, as in the kind we associate with a Manhattan. Over the course of this article, we found out that bitters are good for many more drinks than just a Manhattan. Now if they were just for Manhattans, this article would go over on the alphageek's thoughts, and we would be done with things. Given our new understanding, the article stays here, on the general food side.
How did this little project get started? You can read the post on some bottled Manhattans that Big Dick was king enough to share, right here. Yes, that one is a clickable link. The summary is that I thought the drink was pretty darn good.
So, home we are, and I actually make myself a Manhattan, and it really just is not all that great. The drink I made was certainly nothing compared to what I had out of Big Dick's bottle. Some sort of flavor is simply missing from the drink. I remembered that a classic Manhattan calls for Angostura bitters. so I grab the bottle of bitters I have that is nearly full. I put a little on my finger, and I realize that is the flavor that I am missing in the drink. I add a couple of shakes, stir the drink, and take a sip. It is then I realize what I am missing in my drink. I now have a much more amazing Manhattan to enjoy.
The story would probably just end here, except for something I heard in a computer security podcast. The computer security experts occasionally talk about alcohol. Imagine that, computer people that drink alcohol. One show member discusses liking to use bitters to enhance his drinks.
I get home and decide to add the Angostura bitters to a Martini. That was not a good experiment. The drink was simply destroyed because all I could taste were the bitters. I was shocked! How could I have been steered wrong? I then did what any geek would do: I searched for bitters online. I found out that bitters with more citrus flavors might work better in a Martini. I also found out that there are multitudes of different bitters out there. Simply more than I could count, and Bitters are a big thing right now. I do a quick search on amazon, and find a sampler set that I tell Mrs alphageek I would like for some special occasion. I also found out that Angostura makes some orange bitters as well. I decide that I should try to get some and see what happens.
If it were not for Mrs. alphageek, I would now have those bitters from Amazon.
We were headed to New York, and Mrs alphageek suggested that we try a place that carries all sorts of bitters. So when we get to New York, we head to a place called The Meadow. To say this place has an incredible selection is like saying we are only slightly geeks here on this site. You should click on the site and take a look. It is okay, we can wait here for you. If you don't want to click, you should at least look at the picture below. This is what they carry in the store.
The best part is that we were encouraged to try anything we wanted. When I say anything, I mean anything. I don't know that I have ever been somewhere more laid back about trying their products. Eventually, we got a polite "keep trying whatever you want". They knew the product would sell itself. I must have tried about every orange type there. The trip told me something important: I did not want the Angostura Orange bitters. I decided the taste would just be too strong in a Martini. I eventually picked up several bottles that are enough for a lifetime supply for home use. I would have never been able to pick out the bitters I ended up getting without the opportunity to try so many at once. There was even one to enhance a Manhattan.
So, what did we get? Well, I guess you will have to read the next article and find out when we do a taste test. Until then, why not leave a comment, or follow us any number of ways below?