Anyone speak German?

A German bartender posted a story about my story on the 209 Distillery bitters making event. Read it here, if you can. The story says things such as, "Die kleine Destillerie 209 lud seiner Zeit zu einem Bitters Making Event ein. Neben Barkeepern aus San Francisco war auch Cramper eingeladen und berichtete über diese Veranstaltung," which I believe translates as, "Die stupid Distillery 209 and your Bitters Making Event. Various bartenders in San Francisco also hate Cramper because he's very goodlooking."

The Bitters Truth

Reinventing bitters
House-made concoctions give cocktails a signature spin

Camper English, Special to the Chronicle

Friday, January 19, 2007

Bitters, the cocktail flavoring agent once considered a crucial ingredient in drinks, fell out of favor after Prohibition. Though a few brands like Angostura and Peychaud's have been continually produced since their inception, most bitters makers closed up shop long ago.

With the recent classic cocktail revival, bartenders and home mixologists have renewed interest in the ingredient. Bartender Jennifer Colliau of San Francisco's Slanted Door says, "It may be that we've run out of ways to infuse vodka. Now there are more people who are interested in booze that tastes like booze. (Bitters) alter the flavor of the liquor but in an aromatic way, rather than adding sugar or acidity -- lemon or lime juice -- or adding a mixer like soda."

The classic Sazerac calls for Peychaud's bitters, the Manhattan and old-fashioned cocktails require Angostura, and an early version of the martini (now making a big comeback) requires orange bitters. With a variety of bitters to use, bartenders can put subtle spins on well-worn cocktails by swapping in one flavor of bitters for another. They can also use bitters in new cocktails to form a bridge between ingredients that don't align perfectly on their own.

Only a few brands of bitters have come on the market in recent years, including new fruit flavors from Fee Brothers and Chronicle Cocktailian columnist Gary Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6. But these and other sought-after bitters like the European brand Bitter Truth can be hard to find in the Bay Area, forcing consumers to call around or order the products online.

read the rest of the story here.


When I was writing this story it was the holiday season and all the bitters were sold out around town. I was able to find several flavors of Fee Brothers' bitters at Plumpjack wines in Noe Valley, and I spoke with Domenic Venegas who works at John Walker & Sons downtown (as well as bartends at Bourbon & Branch and at Range). He says that they carry Regan's, the Fee Brothers' line, Angostura, Peychaud, and will be getting in the Bitter Truth bitters as well as some other European ones shortly. That might be your best bet for buying them in San Francisco.

You can also buy bitters directly from the manufacturers. (Regan's are on the Buffalo Trace website.)

Bitters

Yesterday I went to the 209 Gin distillery on Pier 50 in San Francisco. They invited local bartenders to a make-your-own bitters day a few weeks ago, where they could pick herbs and spices to mix with alcohol and let soak for a couple of weeks. They could follow ancient recipes found in old cocktail books or on the web, or try to invent new ones. Yesterday they went to pick up the finished jar of bitters, strain it out, dilute it with water, add sugar, and bottle it. I heard about the event, so I went to watch.

I met head distiller Arne Hillesland, who gave me a great tour of the facility. They only distill on demand, so unfortunately weren't doing it that day. It's approximately a three-day process because they leave the juniper and other herbs to soak in the gin overnight before they fire up the heater to distill on the next.

I could go into detail about the day, but I'm going to write an article about it so you'll read it in the Chronicle later.

In the meantime, click here to check out my photoset on Flickr from the day.