If youโve ever ordered an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan, youโve no doubt seen your bartender dash a minute helping of Angostura bitters into the glass. That little bottle, with its oversized label and bold yellow cap, is a bar staple, and a little goes a long way. At 45 percent ABV, the aromatic bitters are so intensely flavored that theyโre considered โnon potableโ in any quantity greater than a few dashes.
But thatโs not always true.
It turns out that a large measure of the gentian-flavored bitters also goes a long way in making a cocktail trendyโand delicious. Enter the Trinidad Sour.
In 2009, bartender extraordinaire Giuseppe Gonzรกlez, then head bartender of Clover Club and now owner of Suffolk Arms, entered the sour (made with a hefty 1.5 ounces of Angostura bitters, supported by orgeat, lemon juice and a dash of rye) into a cocktail competition. He lost, but, ironically, his drink has outlasted the winning drink.