Bitters and Cocktails [General]

2013 Jan 27
Hi,

Do you know this brand : Fee Brothers? It seems to be very popular among the bartenders. I have been told that some of the bars and restaurants in Ottawa use Fee Brothers biiters in their cocktails. There are different flavors like orange, lemon, rhubarb but the most amazing one is the Old Fashion bitter. Do you know where I can buy those bitters in Ottawa ? Thanks.

2013 Jan 27
Have not seen them in Ottawa but have not been looking too hard. If they had them anywhere it would be a specialty shop like Grace in the Kitchen.

I bought some in Toronto at McEwans...probably for a stupid price. You can likely mail order them for a reasonable cost if you don't find them here in the city.

2013 Jan 27
You can mail order Fee Brothers from thecraftybartender.com

I've purchased quite a few bitters from them, including Regan's orange bitters. They are fast and friendly - a pleasure to deal with!

Grace in the Kitchen carries only Bittermens bitters (aside from the ubiquitous Angostura bitters). I have their Hopped Grapefruit and Xocolatl Mole bitters, both of which are quite fantastic!

2013 Jan 27
the bagelshop has lots of different flavors. I recently bought black walnut bitters there.

2013 Jan 29
There's also Regan's #6 orange bitters, sold on Amazon.com but with hefty shipping costs. FF's link might be better.

The most central place I've found for Angostura bitters is the Metro near Island Park. This is what I use for Old-Fashioneds.

Thanks for the Bagelshop lead, eastcoast; that's my next bitters shopping excursion.

2013 Jan 29
The Byward Fruit Market sells this one: www.feebrothers.com

Which is super different that Angostura bitters.

If you can find grapefruit or rhubarb bitters, pick them up for sure.

2013 Feb 3
Thanks! I will go to THE BAGELSHOP to grab some Fee Brothers and definitely the Rhubarb for sure.
Meanwhile,in Montreal, I visited two specialty stores (Les douceurs du marché - Atwater market and Épicerie Latina on St Viateur)to buy the Fee Bros.I have discovered a new line of bitters that they both carry : it is actually Bittered Sling Extracts from a small company in Vancouver : Kale and Nori.This line is amazing !!! They are very concentrated (extracts)with a powerful flavor and very subtil aromas. Apparently, they can also be used in the kitchen (marinade, sauce,...). I bought the Moondog (Smoky and earhty), Denman (Spicy) and the best one : Plum and Rootbeer. Some of my friends in Mtl told me that they add to their beers the Bittered Sling flavor Grapefruit & Hops. I have heard that this line of bitters are used for cocktails in bars and restaurants like Union Local613 on Somerset. Not sure, it is already available in our gourmet stores but it shouldn't be a problem to get them since the distributor is a company from Toronto called Qualifirst Foods and they already supply fine gourmet products to Nicastro, Byward Fruit, Bagelshop or Grace in the kitchen. Let me know if you find them in Ottawa otherwise I will "import" them from Mtl.

2013 Feb 5
A friend of mine was working in Rochester for awhile and he went directly to Fee Brothers and picked up some orange and lemon bitters for me. I have found Fee Brothers bitters of various types at Grace in the Kitchen and at Pusateri's in Toronto. Stirrings is another brand; they do a nice blood orange bitters.

2013 Feb 5
I notice that the LCBO is promoting the Sazerac cocktail right now. That's a little awkward, because you can't find Peychaud's Bitters here for love or money and it's not an authentic Sazerac without it. I had a friend pick me up a bottle in Louisiana so I am fine, but I assume they are recommending substituting Angostura and they are not the same at all. Peychaud's is a lovely red colour and lighter and more fruity than Angostura.

caskstrength.files.wordpress.com

2013 Feb 5
Yes, it's not a Sazerac without Peychaud's -- shame on the LCBO for bastardizing my favourite cocktail!

I was given a little sampler of Peychaud's from a local bartender and then later purchased the real thing as part of this 3-pack: thecraftybartender.com

Too bad you have to buy all three bitters together, but honestly it's an excellent selection. If you don't already have any of these it is a worthwhile acquisition!

2013 Feb 7
Was just at the Byward Fruit Market last week and they were sold out of Fee Brothers.

Went to The Ottawa Bagel Shop and they only had Fee Brother's top five bitters: Black Walnut, Celery, Cranberry, Lemon and West Indian Orange. Was told that they can special order any of the other flavours.

2013 Feb 8
This place on Queen West byobto.com/ has the largest collection of bitters I have seen ANYWHERE--literally about 100 of them. And you can actually taste them, too. Plus, you can order them online (including the coveted Peychaud's for your Sazeracs). Cheers!

2013 Feb 9
The LCBO's latest droolworthy flyer "Southern Cocktails" features the Sazerac *with* Peychaud's. Good for them!

"From the very beginning back on Royal Street, it's been those dashes of Peychaud's Bitters that have given the Sazerac its unique character. The light, floral qualities are responsible for bringing a warmth and brightness to the equation while at the same time pulling together the anise flavours of the absinthe rinse with the spicy rye in the whisky and the sweetness of the sugar. Now that Peychaud's Bitters is readily available in Canada, it's simple to recreate Antoine's iconic Big Easy cocktail at home.

Order yours at BYOB, 972 Queen Street West in Toronto."

So this aligns nicely with mark_ottawa's post above. :-)

2013 Jun 18
I'm starting to make a few batches of bitters to see if there is a market for them. Yeah, I know. I'm doing that backwards. Still, I have all the necessary ingredients and knowledge (and am gaining more by the day), so why not?

Right now I have a vanilla, cherry, and lemongrass one macerating and am working on getting an aromatic started, as well as an orange.

Requests?

I'm going to be adding these to my regular product line, so watch out for Really Horrible Bitters.

I have a feeling they will do well with the new increased attention to the cocktail culture that is hitting the area.

I'm getting a recipe that is supposed to be very close to Angostura. I don't have it yet, so I guess we'll see once I make a batch or two.

I'm always looking for good references and sources, so if anyone has a line on any good root/bark providers, I'd love to hear from you. I found a local supplier for gentian root, so I guess we'll see how this all turns out.

One other thing: Does anyone know where I can get some decent glass labware in Ottawa? Making potions and extracts is going to require an investment in some more interesting/exotic equipment.

2013 Jun 18
Rizak this might work for you - Canadawide Scientific on Walkley: canadawide.ca

Note a $100 min order for retail sales and walk-ins.

I don't know if Fisher Scientific on Colonnade still supplies labware.

Hey if you ever want some wild parsnip root come on out and dig some up. Please!!!

2013 Jun 18
I picked up a couple bottles on my travels over the weekend. From Dillon' (dillons.ca/) I picked up their pear bitters (which are nice) and from 66 Gilead (www.66gileaddistillery.com/) I got the vanilla bitters.

I think the Vanilla ones would be great for replacing the galliano in a harvey wallbanger.

2013 Jun 18
A few years back, Fisher Scientific did not want to do business with me what so ever (registared companies only) and Canadawide Scientific did do cash business for my glassware.

Canadawide Scientific told me I had to have a license to buy a distiller and a re-fluxer purchase would have to be registered with the RCMP. And all I wanted to do is make bitters from plant extracts.


2014 Oct 6
Quick followup: Here is the first pic of the Bitter Half™ product line. First event was the Ottawa Whiskey Festival at the Westin on Saturday. We were blown away by the response. See what a nice product label can do?

BTW, the name was provided by my wife-like girlfriend: the Dragonlady. She's also the producer and master blender.

Not in any stores yet. Just enough made for Christmas shows and the like. Maybe in the new year.

2014 Oct 6
Ooo nice. Congrats!

You may want to approach Grace in the Kitchen as a potential sales outlet. They have a huge and growing selection of bitters. Certainly more than I've seen elsewhere.

2014 Oct 7
Looks great man, I'd be all over a full set of these if I knew where to find them!

Agree 100% with trying to get them in Grace and the Kitchen, I got my Fee Brothers there and it's the first place most people think when you ask them where to get bitters.

2014 Oct 7
Grace is on the list for sure. We only made enough to get us through Christmas shows for now. Demand/interest was high and when we get around to making more we'll definitely get them into stores. Right now, it's craft shows and personal sales only. I'm mocking up a few sets of samplers with 6 x 1/2 oz bottles, 1 of each. Great for bars/bartenders to check stuff out.

Each batch takes 4-6 weeks and we might not have the time before the crush of the season.

2014 Oct 7
I took a set of Rizaks' bitters to a friend in Rome, she loves them.

2014 Oct 7
i saw some of your stuff at west end well.....is that a limited supply?

2014 Oct 8
The maple syrup and vanilla, no. I've got that stuff coming out of my ears.

Figuratively.

The bitters will not be in stores for at least a month. After our next batches are made.

2014 Oct 9
Is there anyway to get advanced bitters? I mean, I'm a pretty bitter person.