Orange Bitters

Orange bitters is a concentrated, aromatic cocktail seasoning built on dried bitter-orange peel steeped in high-proof neutral spirit alongside spices such as cardamom, caraway, coriander and gentian root. Rather than a liqueur to sip, it is a flavouring dosed in dashes — a few drops perfume a drink with fragrant citrus zest and a firm, drying bitterness. Most are bottled at high strength (roughly 28–45% ABV, though a few glycerin-based brands run much lower) because the alcohol both extracts and preserves the botanicals, yet a serving is only a millilitre or two. Amber to orange-brown and intensely concentrated, it is one of the foundational "aromatic" seasonings of the bar. Orange bitters is a defining touch in the dry Martini, the Old Fashioned, the Martinez and countless other classics, where it lifts and sharpens the drink the way a squeeze of zest or a pinch of spice lifts a dish.