- Julia Thiel
- The Amora Amaro (left) and Road to Manhattan cocktails
Angostura bitters is a cocktail staple, ubiquitous at even the most poorly stocked bars. The recipe, allegedly known to only five people in the world, is a closely guarded secret; the only ingredient listed on the bottle besides alcohol, water, sugar, and “natural flavorings” is gentian (a bittering agent). There are supposedly a total of 47 ingredients in the bitters, mostly herbs and spices—but which ones is anyone’s guess.
I had less success with the Road to Manhattan, a combination of Angostura 1824 rum, Amaro di Angostura, ginger liqueur, and a couple dashes of Angostura bitters. I didn’t have the rum the recipe called for, but the blogger who shared it said that the cocktail tasted a little like a Dark & Stormy, so I used Gosling’s rum. It turned out to smell and taste harshly alcoholic. I could taste the rum, sweetness, and ginger, but all separately; the ingredients didn’t mesh. It was like a Dark & Stormy made with flat ginger ale and no lime juice. I tried adding a half ounce of lime juice, a little more ginger liqueur, and a bit of sparkling water, which improved it exponentially—the cocktail went from tasting like a bad Dark & Stormy to an unusually complex version of the drink. I’d still stick with the Amora Amaro, though.
