Review: Beehive Bitters Co.

Beehive Bitters Co.

Small Batch Bitters, 1-oz. bottles
@beehive_bitters_company

With roots that go back centuries, the art of bitters has seen a revival in recent years—those who’ve sipped on a craft cocktail recently have probably seen this peculiar item on the menu and in their drinks. Comprising an intricate alchemy of tinctures, infusions and ingredients (with names like wormwood, gentian root and mugwort), bitters can seem less like a cocktail component and more like a lesson in potion-making. Thankfully, Mike D’Amico is a veritable Severus Snape when it comes to the craft. D’Amico’s home-bar hobby of bitters-making hit the shelves in early 2015 and has been winning over cocktail enthusiasts and bartenders alike. While there are all kinds of bizarre flavor combinations of bitters on the market these days, Beehive Bitters Co. have fine-tuned four varieties—Spiced Orange, Lemon, Lime and Coffee & Cacao—each of which are carefully crafted by D’Amico to provide strong, singular flavor with notes of subtle nuance. For each batch, ingredients are infused individually with a neutral grain spirit for specific lengths of time, and the resulting tinctures are combined in precise amounts to achieve a complex flavor profile. Because the highlighted flavors are so compacted, only a few drops are needed to enhance a cocktail—the Spiced Orange’s vanilla and spice notes shine in drinks such as the Old Fashioned, the Lemon and Lime varieties provide a soothing citrus note to boozy gin and vodka drinks, and you’ll wanna have Coffee & Cacao on hand to splash into your eggnog and White Russians. Find these bitters at bars and retailers around town and online in 1-oz. Boston round dropper bottles, which allow cocktail alchemists to carefully control how many drops they put in their drinks. Follow @beehive_bitters_company on Instagram for recipes and drink ideas. –Christian Schultz