Angostura aromatic bitters
Also called Angostura, aromatic bitters, Ango
The world's standard aromatic bitters: a 44.7% ABV concentrate of gentian, spices and botanicals made in Trinidad since 1875 to a recipe from 1824. A dash or two binds sweet and spirit in an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan and seasons a Pisco Sour's foam. It contains no angostura bark.
- clove
- cinnamon
- gentian bitterness
- dried cherry
- allspice
- bitter orange
- cola
Origin
Dr Johann Siegert, a German doctor serving with Bolívar's forces in Angostura, Venezuela, created his Amargo Aromatico in 1824 as a remedy for stomach complaints and gave it first to patients and friends. Sailors carried it between ports and it was being imported into England by about 1830. The name honors the town; the flavor leans on gentian, not angostura bark. After Siegert's death in 1870 his sons moved the company to Trinidad in 1875, where it is still made to the original formula, known to a handful of people.
Production and safety
Bitters are about 45% ABV but used in dashes, so a finished drink carries only a trace. The bottle keeps indefinitely at room temperature; the oversized label is deliberate.
Allergens: None
Common uses
- old-fashioned
- manhattan
- pisco-sour (dashes on the foam)
- singapore-sling
- Champagne Cocktail on a sugar cube
- Trinidad Sour (a full measure as the base)
Pours that use it
- Classic
Manhattan
Rye and sweet vermouth, stirred to a dark gloss
The classic New York whiskey cocktail: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters, stirred with ice and served up with a brandied cherry.
WhiskeyStirredEasy - Classic
Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar, bitters and the patience to stir
The original whiskey cocktail: bourbon or rye stirred in the glass with a dissolved sugar cube and Angostura bitters, served over a large ice cube with an expressed orange peel.
WhiskeyBuiltEasy - International
Pisco Sour
Lima's grape-brandy sour under a cap of foam and bitters
Peru's national cocktail: pisco, fresh lime, simple syrup and egg white, shaken without ice and then with it, strained up and finished with drops of aromatic bitters on the foam.
PiscoShakenIntermediate - International
Singapore Sling
The rose-colored long drink of the Long Bar
A tall, fruit-forward gin sling from Singapore's Raffles Hotel: gin, cherry liqueur, Benedictine, orange liqueur, pineapple, lime, grenadine and bitters, shaken and served over ice.
GinShakenIntermediate
Sources
- Angostura: history, Difford's Guide · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Angostura Aromatic Bitters, Difford's Guide · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Angostura packaging story and oversized label, Difford's Guide · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11