Angostura Bitters cocktails
7 classic recipes from our canon that use angostura bitters — Angostura Bitters sits in our bitters shelf.
Old Fashioned
Spirit, sugar, bitters — the original cocktail, distilled to its essentials.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
Method
- 1Stir bourbon, syrup and bitters with ice until chilled.
- 2Strain over a large cube in a rocks glass.
- 3Express an orange peel over the top.
PRO TIP
Stir, never shake — you want silk, not froth.
Garnish — Orange peel
Manhattan
Rye and sweet vermouth, stirred down cold — elegant, spirit-forward, classic.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml rye whiskey
- ◆20 ml sweet vermouth
- ◆1 dash angostura bitters
Method
- 1Stir all ingredients with ice until very cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Rye over bourbon — the spice keeps the vermouth from going cloying.
Garnish — Cherry
Pisco Sour
Pisco, lime and a silky egg-white cap finished with bitters — South America's signature sour.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml pisco
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆20 ml simple syrup
- ◆1 egg white
- ◆3 drops angostura bitters
Method
- 1Dry-shake pisco, lemon, syrup and egg white without ice.
- 2Add ice and shake again until cold.
- 3Strain into a chilled goblet and dot bitters over the foam.
PRO TIP
Drag a pick through the bitters dots for the classic feathered pattern.
Garnish — Angostura bitters
Old Cuban
A grown-up mojito — aged rum, mint and lime lengthened with Champagne and bitters.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml dark rum
- ◆22 ml lime juice
- ◆30 ml simple syrup
- ◆6 leaves mint
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
- ◆60 ml prosecco
Method
- 1Shake everything except the sparkling wine with ice.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- 3Top gently with prosecco or Champagne.
PRO TIP
Audrey Saunders' modern classic — aged rum makes it elegant, not beachy.
Garnish — Mint sprig
Trinidad Sour
An upside-down sour built on a full pour of Angostura, softened by orgeat and rye.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml angostura bitters
- ◆30 ml orgeat
- ◆22 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml rye whiskey
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Yes — a full 45 ml of bitters as the base. The orgeat tames it beautifully.
Garnish — None
Champagne Cocktail
A bitters-soaked sugar cube drowned in Champagne with a cognac lift — old-world celebration.
Ingredients
- ◆5 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
- ◆10 ml cognac
- ◆to top champagne
Method
- 1Add syrup and bitters to a chilled flute, then the cognac.
- 2Top slowly with cold Champagne.
PRO TIP
Traditionally a sugar cube soaked in bitters — syrup keeps it simpler.
Garnish — Lemon twist
Rob Roy
A Manhattan made with Scotch — same elegant build, a smokier, maltier spine.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml scotch whisky
- ◆20 ml sweet vermouth
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
Method
- 1Stir all ingredients with ice until very cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Swap the rye of a Manhattan for Scotch and this is what you get.
Garnish — Brandied cherry
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