Author Brad Thomas Parsons has been making the rounds in Portland, Ore., and Seattle to showcase his new release, Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All with Cocktails, Recipes & Formulas.
This exhaustive study of a slightly obscure subject is anything but dry and academic. Parsons — formerly senior books editor at Amazon — tells the tales behind these tasty tinctures in a way that might even be described as saucy.
The timing of this entertaining and engaging “celebration of cocktails made well” couldn’t have been better, as the resurgence of hand-crafted cocktails continues to shake, stir and roll right along. I’ll drink to that!
And, as a matter of fact, I did drink to that this week during an event at Tom Douglas’ flagship restaurant in downtown Seattle, part of a series called Shop Talk at the Dahlia Lounge.
Guests sampled five lovely cocktails featuring bitters and accompanying savory snacks from Dahlia’s chef de cuisine Brock Johnson as Parsons talked about researching the book, the art of cooking with bitters and pairing food with cocktails before fielding questions from the audience and signing copies of his handsome book.
The liquid lineup, served in courses, included a classic Champagne cocktail, served with sweet and spicy nuts (a recipe featured in the book), followed by a gorgeous Negroni served up and paired with salumi, chunks of Parmesan, an anchovy and an olive. Then came a sweet, sensationally seasonal drink called Autumn Sweater that was nicely complemented by a white pepper rubbed pork belly served atop a savory waffle. A whimsical turn on breakfast for dinner! Finally, another sparkling wine cocktail and a straight shot of Underberg bitters from Germany. Prost!
A little goes a long way when it comes to bitters and guests were invited to try a drop or two of the dozens of bottles of bitters from Parsons’ extensive personal collection. The two most memorable I tried were a Memphis Barbecue Bitters (smoky!) and the Sriracha bitters!
This kind of show and tell, sip and share makes me so darned happy that authors have come up with such clever ways to get readers talking about their books! The tasty demo of the transformative powers of bitters inspired me to dust off my bottles of bitters and experiment.
Be sure and check out Brad’s recipe for Cranberry-Spice Cocktail that appeared in the October issue of Food & Wine. And here’s another of the drink from Bitters we tried last night.
Autumn Sweater
Makes 1 drink
- 1 ounce rye
- 1/2 ounce Averna
- 1/2 ounce Amaro Nonino
- 1/2 ounce maple syrup
- 1 dash Urban Moonshine maple bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
- Garnish: thick clove-studded strip of orange zest
Combine all the ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until chilled. Add a large sphere of ice to a chilled double old-fashioned and strain the drink into the glass.
For the garnish, use a paring knife to slice a thick strip of zest from an orange. Twist it over the drink to release the essential oils and rub along the rim of the glass. Stud the orange zest with two whole cloves and drape it over the ice sphere.
— Leslie Kelly
