Why It’s Illegal for Cocktail Bitters to Taste Good
Bitters are a key ingredient in some of the world’s most popular cocktails, from classics like the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan to lesser-known creations like the Queen’s Park Swizzle and the Bamboo. (Some still insist the ingredient is also essential to a proper Martini, though most modern iterations omit it.) Bitters are typically added in small quantities — just a few dashes — but add bright aromatics and offset the sweetness of the other ingredients, helping form a balanced, complex cocktail.
Though bitters are featured in these beloved drinks, they’re not typically consumed on their own — outside of maybe one Wisconsin bar where it’s tradition to take shots of Angostura — due to their intense flavor profile (shake a little on your hand and give it a lick and you’ll see what we mean). But what if a producer wanted to make bitters that actually tasted… good? It turns out that there are restrictions in place that prohibit making this product too enjoyable. But why limit bitters to this flavor profile? VinePair tapped Ben Sheffield, global brand ambassador for Seattle-based producer Scrappy’s Bitters, to shed some light on this question.
Sheffield explains that in the U.S., bitters are sold under the “non-potable” alcohol designation, a category that requires approval from the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). This category includes products like vanilla extract, so while they contain alcohol, they’re sold as ingredients to be used in a greater product, rather than for direct consumption like alcoholic beverages. This allows bitters to be sold in grocery stores, even in states that don’t allow spirits and food products to be sold side by side, like New York. The non-potable designation also comes with a major tax break, since the products aren’t sold as alcoholic beverages. Because there’s a monetary incentive, the TTB inspects each product before its release to make sure it truly belongs in the non-potable category — meaning, it can’t be enjoyable to drink on its own.
Scrappy’s makes a range of bitters, always experimenting with different flavor profiles from lime to celery. When working on a new product for a special release this year, Sheffield realized that the liquid was too palatable. “It was an aromatic-style bitter, barrel aged in rye casks for two and a half years,” he recalls. “I tasted it and immediately said, ‘There’s no way this is getting non-potable designation.’”
So while the product tasted delicious, the Scrappy’s team had to go back to the drawing board. “We proactively macerated it again for a second time post-barrel aging, adding a bunch more of the herbs and spices, and let it sit for another month to give it that bitter backbone,” Sheffield adds.
Though it might sound appealing to have a super-enjoyable bottle of aromatic bitters to add to drinks, at the end of the day bitters are meant to pack a punch of powerful, high-octane flavor, and just be used as a seasoning for cocktails. “The way we make bitters is always high potency,” Sheffield says. “We’re called Scrappy’s for a reason — they’re not mellow.”
*Image retrieved from Rachel Weill via stock.adobe.com
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