I shared a vial of my lavender bitters with trismegistos and dshenaut the other evening. After they smelled and tasted a drop, I was asked to recite the infusion list. I was schooled by D who said "perhaps it is more a tincture, since it has no classic bittering element".

What are our operating definitions for these two terms, bitters and tinctures? There are a number of herbs and seeds and roots that we might put to use against a spirit to acheive a balance of interesting flavors. How were these botanicals classified in the era of pharmacy preparations? How do we think about them now?

I bought Quassia and Gentian from a TCM herbalist. He remarked, "that's two of the three bitterest herbs I have". Of course I asked after that third, he meant Wormwood. To my taste, all three have individual qualities around their strong bitter profile.

Are there other classic bittering agents?
What other herbs are there that aren't quite strong enough to be considered classic but contribute to the overall bitter taste?

I know I would find it interesting exercise to collaborate here on sketching a spectrum of bitter. And happy to put a little work towards a tasting experience to evaluate our opinions.

Thanks, Erik, for some I'd forgotten to mention. Like Cinchona/Peruian/Jesuit Bark, which that herbalist didn't stock. And Angostura, because I sometimes make things invisible when they're in front of me.

Hops, Burdock, pith and peel of citrus

Tansy? interesting. Milk Thistle? nifty.

A Milk Thistle bitters would be a wonderful homeopathic inside joke, no?

I think of a tincture as being a single-note product. When working out various recipes for bitters, I will often start by making tinctures of the individual products I'm planning on using and then experiment with combining them in different proportions to see how the flavors work together.

To be a "bitter" in my mind means that it "should" include bittering agents of some sort, but I think more important is that the flavor is so robust/concentrated that you really wouldn't consider drinking it on its own. For anybody thinking about going "commercial" with their bitters, this is an important point. You want the FDA to classify your product as "non-potable", which will mean you won't be subject to federal liqor taxes. Regan's Orange Bitters had to do through significant re-formulation because the first version was deemed "potable" by the FDA.

-Robert

Speaking of, I think that Jeff's orange bitters, my grapefruit bitters and Daniel's starfruit bitters will all be appearing in the pages of NW Palate next month.