Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. News

Cocktail History: Bogart’s Bitters is a Recreation of a 150-Year-Old Recipe

By

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

If you’ve ever made a cocktail, you’ve probably used bitters before. Maybe you added a few dashes of the old standby, Angostura bitters, or perhaps you’re a bit more experimental. Maybe you used Thai bitters or maybe you made your own from leftover Everclear and those Chia pets your mom got you when you finally left her basement. Regardless, bitters were used.

But did you ever think about what the some of the first bitters (ever called for in a cocktail book) tasted like? Now you’ll have a chance.

Recommended Videos

Introducing Bogart’s Bitters by The Bitter Truth, a recreation of the bitters called for in the first-ever cocktail book: The Bar-Tender’s Guide: How to mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion, written Jerry Thomas in 1862. At the time, the brand of bitters that was sold was known as “Boker’s bitters,” but historians believe that Thomas spelled the name wrong, thus it became Bogart’s bitters. In honor of Thomas, The Bitter Truth decided to name their recreation as he had spelled it.

bogarts bitters
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This product is as close to historically accurate as possible. According to Jamie Boudreau of Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium in Seattle, “The formula has been analyzed and interpreted, and [any potential changes] in flavor profile due to age were subtracted and the liquid formulated in the way it authentically resembles Jerry Thomas’ favorite bitters of more than a century ago.”

This wasn’t the first bitters ever, though. At the time, there were many different types of bitters for sale (much as there is today), though in the late 1800s, they were all considered medicinal. With the creation of the FDA in 1906, though, it wasn’t long until many brands were forced to close. Because the FDA forced brands to take the word “medicinal” off their labels, when Prohibition hit, a large number of brands went down quicker than a free shot of whiskey, Boker’s included.

Some bottles remained, though, and the people behind The Bitter Truth were able to find one. The team then worked to recreate not only what was inside (the original recipe was long lost), but also to craft a bottle to resemble the one that Boker’s was originally sold in. (Fun fact: The style of bottle is known as a “lady leg.”)

Ten years in the making, Bogart’s bitters has chocolate and coffee notes mixed with dark spices. Released in limited quantities, a 375-mL bottle retails for around $35.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Food & Drink
The best beers to pair with your summer yard games
Anderson Valley

When it comes to leisure activities during the summer months, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of a round of yard games. What could be more fun on a hot, sunny day than besting your friends and siblings in an epic backyard brawl? I can’t think of anything.

I’m talking about games like croquet, lawn darts, bocce, ladder ball, cornhole, and more. The only thing that makes the experience better is having a frosty, refreshing beer firmly in one of your hands. But just like how you don’t enjoy every yard game, not just any beer will do.

Read more
Food & Drink
Jagermeister goes citrus with new orange release
Alcohol, Beverage, Liquor

Alcohol is the ultimate gathering tool. No matter what event you have coming up, you can almost always bet on a good drink (unless it is a baby shower; then maybe not). From the moment I joined the United States Army, I became quite familiar with the presence of Jagermeister. It was a constant pillar of our get-togethers for two main reasons. The first was that we didn’t make a lot of money, and it has always been one of the more accessible liquors when we walked down the booze aisles of the Class 6 (picture a 711 on a military post). The second reason is that it is the perfect shot drink. It never needed a mixer. It is designed to be poured as a shot straight from the freezer. However, Jager is also versatile enough to make some great cocktails. Now, the brand dropped the perfect summer upgrade with an orange twist.

Jagermeister has always been about bringing people together. – Cindy Wang Simms, CMO,Jägermeister US.

Read more
Food & Drink
Bib & Tucker’s first bottled-in-bond bourbon is aged twice the legal minimum
Alcohol, Beverage, Liquor

Bib & Tucker is releasing its first bottled-in-bond bourbon, and the Columbia, Tennessee brand went well past what the designation actually asks for.

Bottled-in-bond is one of the oldest and strictest standards in American whiskey. The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 requires that a whiskey be distilled in a single season by a single distiller at a single distillery, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. No wiggle room on any of it.

Read more