The bitter end

Women like shoes. Men like women. I like bitters.

So you can imagine my state of mind when, while exploring Fitzroy in Melbourne, I discovered a store I never knew could exist.

A store dedicated to cocktail bitters.

My brain exploded.

Bitters to the left of me. Bitters to the right. There was even a table covered in bitters that you could taste test.

After spending most of my cocktail-making life struggling to find anything other than Angostura (not that there’s anything wrong with Angostura – it’s still one of my favourites), here was a place filled with more bitters than I could count.

Without exaggerating, I spent 30 min wandering in a daze (the guy who works there probably thinks I’m mentally defective) before I snapped, bought a bottle at random, and ran away.

Through sheer luck, however, I chose well – namely the E. Smith Mercantile BBQ bitters.

Made with single malt, orange, grapefruit, coffee, quassia root, and a range of spices including cumin, this is perfect in … well, almost anything.

The bottle says it’s good in a bloody mary, but I’ve used it in old fashioneds and whiskey sours and am chuffed.

But enough about that.

Long story short: Christmas is coming and I want everyone who reads this (does anyone read this?) to buy me some damn bitters.

The store I got this from is called The Bitters Lab – it’s at 9/397 Smith St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

I’m waiting.