Shaking (or stirring) up a bracing, perfectly balanced cocktail has become a coveted craft skill for home bartenders in recent years. We strive to present guests with a well-made daiquiri or margarita. However, there’s one essential yet oft-forgotten ingredient that may be missing from your liquor cabinet: bitters. Bitters are concentrated flavor extracts (usually made with a high alcohol base) that add aromatic notes, depth, and brightness to drinks. They’re a small component by volume, but vital for fine-tuning many cocktails. So, what happens when you’re fresh out?
According to journalist and cocktail expert Caroline Pardilla, you have options, particularly if you keep aperitifs, digestifs, and acerbic liqueurs on hand. The author of the new book “Margarita Time: 60+ Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails, Served Up, Over & Blended ” spoke with Chowhound about how to save your cocktail hour in a pinch. Your first, best option when you’re out of bitters is to head to the store. But as Pardilla notes, “If you absolutely do not want to leave your house to get bitters, you can cheat by using ⅛ teaspoon (equivalent to 2 dashes) of Campari (or any amaro) or absinthe to season your drink.” Luckily, this sensible swap is relatively seamless.
Astringent liqueurs brighten your cocktail
In 1806, an editor for The Balance and Columbian Repository newspaper defined a cocktail — a pretty new concept at the time — as consisting of “spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters,” making bitters key to distinguishing cocktails from mixed drinks (via Difford’s Guide). Besides adding nuance to classic and modern tipples alike, bitters also help to balance overly sweet cocktails.
The reason amari like Campari, Nonino Amaro, Amaro Sibilia, and Ramazzotti work as replacements for bitters is their strong, astringent, and yes, bitter flavor profiles. While they’re made with many of the same botanicals, these alcohols tend not to be as intense in character as actual bitters, though they produce a similar stimulating salivary response. Absinthe, meanwhile, has more of a salty licorice/umami note — typically thanks to anise and/or fennel — and an herbal bitterness that famously comes from wormwood. It tends to be high-proof, so a couple of dashes should go a long way.
If you’re really on the ropes, consider citrus. Caroline Pardilla recommends squeezing orange peel over your cocktail, “using the orange oils to brighten it up. Besides the peel’s astringency, citrus juice’s acidity will also work nicely to balance cocktails. However, Pardilla warns that, “although these swaps will do in a pinch, they won’t add the same depth and complexity as bitters.”
