Summer days make the words gin-and-tonic seem perfect. But I’m not a liquor lover. The calories add up too fast, and I’d rather splurge my calories on chocolate.
Diet sodas no longer enchant me; gone are the days I’d start off with a Diet Coke at breakfast–just for the taste of it. Iced coffee and tea are great, but I can only drink so much tannin without wondering if my gut is going to be used to make a Birkin. Oh, OK, maybe a pair of Birkis. So I began to explore drinks that I can drink cold and in quantity without packing on calories and without the cardboardy, acidy taste I get from drink mixes. I tried pouring a tube of flavoring in cold water, and to me the artificial fruit flavors don’t taste like fruit, or even particularly good. They taste like a chemistry lab.
So I tried something so simple, so easy, I can’t believe how good it is. Take a glass, put in as much ice as you love, and then add 3-5 drops Angostura Bitters. Fill with club soda or selzer. It’s a perfect drink. Cleat, crisp, refreshing, bubbly, and a great herbal taste that’s interesting but not overwhelming. Goes with sushi as well at with PBJs.
Angostura Bitters are a bar staple. They aren’t really bitter, the word is derived from aromatic concoctions that contain gentian–a flowering herb that is used in perfumes. It’s also been used as a malaria cure and insect repellent. Versatile plant. Bright blue flowers. Gentian is bitter, but there is a lot more than gentian in bitters–a mix of aromatic herbs that is lovely in smell and dark brown in color.
bitters and mug
I originally used the bitters for tea-staining papers, because it worked faster and was darker than tea, and I loved the smell. I swear, if they made this substance as a fragrance, I’d wear it every day.
But until then, I’ll use a few drops over fresh strawberries and in my soda-and-bitters. It’s an inexpensive joy that pays off in big ways.
—Quinn McDonald is a life- and certified creativity coach. She teaches people how to write and give presentations. She also manages four journals that travel the world.
can should be can’t in the above comment.
You do realize that all bitter have a high alcohol content, somewhere around 40%. Can be chugging them down like water all day. For a real simple refreshing drink have a glass of seltzer with any citrus twist (fresh, if possible)
Yep, bitters have a high alcohol content. Angustora had about a 44 percent content. But 3-5 spritzes in a 16-20 oz. glass of seltzer doesn’t really qualify for “chugging them down.” If I were to drink a GALLON of selzer a day (128 fl. oz) that would amount to about 20 drops of bitters, or 0.16 fl. oz. or about a teaspoon.
Thanks for the clarification – your explanation makes it reasonable, so all you are really doing is flavoring the water lightly with alcohol significantly diluted to have virtually no significant affect. Enjoy!
Interesting that you say “flavoring the water lightly with alcohol,” –the alcohol in bitters carries no flavor. It is the mix of herbs and aromatics that give it the interesting and refreshing flavor. The bitters smell great, too. But it doesn’t work as a perfume–I tried it!
Cold Gazpacho soup with a few drops of tabasco and a tsp. of sour cream for lunch and your fresh bitter drink will make any hot day very bearable.
That’s a really yummy dish–I love gazpacho in almost any weather!
That is a very good idea, very simple also.
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