Our friends over at the Liquor Snob website have recently been lamenting the shortage of Angostura bitters, the popular brand of herbally-infused flavor supplement, which so many of us favor in our drinks. Below, we’ve quoted the words as they exit the horse’s mouth:

We know there are all kinds of bitters out there to use in our cocktails, but we have to say we’re sort of used to using Angostura. For those who don’t pay attention, Angostura is the bitters you commonly get at your local bar in your cocktails…pretty much all of them. We’ve complained about this before, but we can’t seem to buy them anywhere.

Why the shortage? The official sources we can track down say the plant has closed down temporarily, but we heard a rumor that the employees are on strike. Bitter bitters workers? Say it ain’t so, and just bring us back our Angostura before we have to fly to Trinidad to get ‘em…though that doesn’t sound so bad either with all the snow we’re getting in VT.

Glad to say that, in addition to back-stocking Angostura bitters in our private COS bar, we here at Culture of Spirits have enjoyed receiving samples of other bitters this year, namely those provided by the Urban Moonshine company out of Vermont. Their unique varieties of bitters (which feature a “standard” bitter, as well as maple and citrus flavors), paired with our extensive stockade of the Angostura variety have kept us from losing our proverbial minds, in spite of the “cabin fever” that has beset so many of us here in Appalachia.

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It is often espoused at this website that many of the fine alcoholic beverages available today are so great-tasting due to the quality ingredients used in their creation. Thanks to new trends that involve the use of organic ingredients, “green” processing methods and incorporation of naturally grown herbs and botanicals into many modern spirits, these fine beverages not only taste great, but also promote overall health in many ways.

Recently Jovial King, founder and formulator of the Vermont-based company Urban Moonshine, was kind of enough to send Culture of Spirits a unique sampling of several fine organic bitters his family-owned company offers. Having tasted each of the varieties he sent us, it is my pleasure to give you an idea of what to expect from these masterfully-blended specialties.

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