All The Bitter was based by hospitality veterans Carley and Ian Blessing, two former sommeliers at lauded Napa, California restaurant The French Laundry. Each slowed their alcohol consumption after having children and realized that the market lacked merchandise that met their requirements.

“Now, they’ve an entire lineup of cocktail bitters,” says Alex Pisi, lead bartender of The Wells in Washington, D.C. “After I’m trying to change Angostura bitters, All The Bitter gives rather a lot by way of taste profile and selection.”

To make up for the shortage of alcohol, the model packs its bitters with two to 3 occasions extra uncooked botanicals than customary alcoholic bitters to make sure intense taste.

“I like utilizing a mix of All of the Bitter Fragrant and Orange non-alcoholic bitters in cocktails like Outdated Fashioneds and Manhattans,” says Michael Fifelski, beverage director for The Harvey Home in Madison, Wisconsin. “The fragrant bitters give an awesome earthy spicy taste, and the orange bitters stability the earthiness with refreshing citrusy tones. They’re additionally beautiful when combined with membership soda or ginger ale for one thing extra refreshing.”

“I usually discover myself reaching for Colorado natural bitters maker Dram,” says Clint Rogers, the beverage supervisor at The Nationwide in Telluride, Colorado. “I significantly love their Palo Santo bitters which offer an awesome punch of woody, ephemeral, and savory notes to many cocktails. I discover this finest paired with gin or mezcal.”

Rogers factors out that whereas Palo Santo is a trendier taste, he respects how Dram sources its uncooked supplies. “They’re very centered on sustainability and transparency,” he says. “Palo santo has exploded in recent times and plenty of on-line suppliers supply from less-than-ideal locations the place the wild ‘holy bark’ is harvested.” Dram works with a single supply farm that collects bark from fallen branches and sticks.

Owned and operated by New Orleans native Christa Cotton, all of El Guapo’s 12 bitters flavors are utterly non-alcoholic. The lineup consists of extra customary flavors like barrel-aged vanilla, spicy fuego bitters, and seasonal sizzling cocoa bitters. The place this model shines is in its off-the-beaten-path flavors, like crawfish boil (assume cajun spices with onion, garlic, and bay) or gumbo (creole, file, bell pepper, celery, and thyme). 

The model’s Polynesian Kiss bitters are constructed for tropical drinks like Daiquiris, Mai Tais, or different island-influenced zero-proof drinks. The bitters are made fully in New Orleans from native almonds, spices, guava, passionfruit, pineapple, coconut, and a glycerin and water base.

Should you’re on the lookout for a lower-octane swap to your fragrant bitters, India-based Bab Louie makes the necessities: orange bitters and fragrant bitters (plus, bittersweet cherry bitters). The main focus right here is excessive taste: potently steeped bitters made with a mix of 15 botanicals and Indian spices.

The founders have famous that U.S.-made bitters seldom make it over to India and that the high-alcohol bitters might really feel misplaced in a society the place consuming alcohol is much less ubiquitous. So Bab Louie provides its bitters an Indian lean, constructing flavors with out alcohol and highlighting all-Indian spices.

Along with its Palo Santo bitters, Dram makes extra conventional citrus bitters with citrus rinds, orange blossom water, hibiscus petals, and lemon salt. As with the Palo Santo bitters, all substances are sourced from natural farms, and largely native each time doable.

The ultimate product is vivid and citrus-driven, with extremely floral aromatics and a tart, energetic chunk on the palate. In comparison with customary orange bitters, Dram’s Citrus bitters rely much less on baking spices and gentian root and lean extra into extra floral, fragrant citrus—assume expressing a lemon over a glass. Add a number of drops to a regular soda, an Outdated Normal variation, or to lighter drinks with vodka or mezcal. 

Over a decade in the past, Ben Branson based Seedlip, one of many world’s most acknowledged non-alcoholic manufacturers. Now, he’s launched a brand new zero-proof bitters line, Seasn.

Branson dubs these cocktail condiments “seasonings” to your drinks, they usually’re obtainable in two flavors: gentle and darkish. The previous is geared toward lighter drinks: highballs, glowing waters, Martinis, and Margaritas, whereas the darkish is constructed for Outdated Fashioneds and different drinks highlighting brown spirits.

As an alternative of a base of alcohol, Seasn makes use of glycerin amplified by a spread of flavorings equivalent to lime, grapefruit, kombu, kola nut, and smoked cherrywood for Gentle, and kola nut, smoked cherrywood, star anise, and cinnamon for darkish. All are utterly zero-proof, vegan, and sugar-free.