Angostura Bitters — The Bartender's Salt

Angostura bitters was created in 1824 by Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a German physician serving under Simón Bolívar in the Venezuelan military. Siegert created the bitters as a stomach remedy for soldiers suffering from digestive complaints. He named it after the town of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar), Venezuela, where it was first produced. Commercial production began in 1830. The Siegert family relocated production to Trinidad in 1875, where the House of Angostura remains headquartered and wholly Trinidad-owned.

Angostura bitters is the most essential ingredient in cocktail culture — the 'bartender's salt' that seasons and binds every classic cocktail formula it touches. Produced in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago since 1875, Angostura uses a secret recipe of gentian root and a blend of spices and botanicals macerated in alcohol at 44.7% ABV. The oversized label (a famous design error that became a brand trademark when different printers produced mismatched label and bottle sizes, and the Angostura family refused to change either) and the distinctive yellow cap are globally recognisable. Despite its alcohol content, Angostura is used by the dash — approximately 0.625ml — as a seasoning ingredient, not a spirit.

FOOD PAIRING: Angostura's aromatic complexity bridges to Provenance 1000 recipes through its cocktail applications — an Old Fashioned (Angostura-seasoned) alongside roasted duck, smoked brisket, or charcuterie demonstrates perfect cocktail-food pairing. Angostura in cooking: 2 dashes in a caramel sauce, a steak marinade, or a chocolate ganache creates subtle spice complexity that elevates the dish. The Trinidad Sour (2 oz Angostura bitters, 3/4 oz Orgeat, 3/4 oz lime, 1 oz bourbon) — a cocktail built around bitters rather than spirit — is the most dramatic demonstration of Angostura's versatility.