In the 19th century, orange bitters were an essential bitters style, playing a key role in many classic cocktails. After Prohibition, they were hard to come by–that is until the craft cocktail renaissance of the early aughts.

Cocktail bitters are spirits infused with flavors, typically from plants, fruits, or spices. They date as far back as the early 1800’s, originally used to assist with digestion and cure stomach aches. Infusing your cocktail recipes with just a few drops of bitters will give them an additional level of flavor depth. Many bitters are also renowned for their ability to cure hangovers.

Fee Brothers, located in Rochester, NY, is a fourth-generation family-owned business that began as a small saloon/delicatessen back in 1863. Today, the product list includes almost 100 drink and cocktail mix products, shipped to distributors and establishments across six continents.

These Fee Brothers old fashioned orange bitters are aged in gin the same barrels used to make Old Tom gin, a spirit that was extremely popular prior to Prohibition. Old Tom was known for its light, sweet flavor, and has recently re-gained some popularity. These bitters add hints of piney juniper and other botanical notes to your drink.

Many drink recipes call for orange bitters but one of the best applications has to be a gin or vodka martini made with good, dry vermouth. Try a few dashes in your next 50/50 to experience the sweet difference these Fee Brothers bitters can make. A dash of bitters with the Old Tom sweetness will also add a new level of flavor depth to any bourbon or whiskey cocktail.

Like all Fee Brothers bitters, this barrel-aged cocktail bitters recipe will come packaged in a paper-wrapped glass bottle with a screw-top cap and dasher-style insert for easy, controlled dispensing.

Each 5 ounce bottle of bitters contains approximately 150 dashes. The amount of liquid in one dash varies depending on the amount of bitters left in the bottle. The less remaining in the bottle, the bigger your dash gets.