Use Bitters to Make Old Drinks Brand-New

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What bitters are—concentrated botanicals preserved in alcohol—is less important than what they’re capable of.  Which is, basically, making a brand-new drink out of the same old recipe.  Take the old-fashioned. Sub in Regans’ Orange Bitters for Angostura and you plug an amplifier into the drink’s citrus note.  Bittermens Burlesque will make it a little sour and a tad spicy.  And Dutch’s Colonial Cocktail Bitters, made with hand-harvested flowers and berries, gives the old-fashioned a dash of pepper and a whole fistful of floral.  But be selective.  As with automobiles, if you have more than three, you’re just showing off.

OLD-FASHIONED
Ingredients:
1 sugar cube
3 dashes bitters
2 oz. rye whiskey
1 orange peel

Directions:
Muddle cucumber in shaker. Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake. Strain over ice into glass.

Mix with… Egg Whites
That’s how pros amp up a drink’s frothiness.

PISCO SOUR
Ingredients:
3 oz. pisco
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. lime juice
1 egg white

Directions:
Shake hard without ice. Add ice; shake more. Strain into glass; dash with bitters.


Mix with… Red Wine
Float it over the back of a spoon to add a tart kick to any whiskey drink

NEW YORK SOUR
Ingredients:
2 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup

Directions:
Shake in shaker; strain over ice into glass. Drizzle 1/2 ounce red wine over back of spoon into completed cocktail.


Mix with… Cucumber
Muddle it with vodka or gin, then build your drink as usual

CUCUMBER TOM COLLINS
Ingredients:
4 slices cucumber
4 oz. gin
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup

Directions:
Muddle cucumber in shaker. Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake. Strain over ice into glass.

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