As I write this interview up, I have a big old Mason jar full of the makings of Apple Bitters hanging out in my pantry. This is Brad Thomas Parsons’ fault. His new book, Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas is part cocktail history book, part catalogue of what bitters are available, and part DIY for actual bitters making at home. If you have any interest in making cocktails at all, you should own it. It’s the rare cocktail book that I think will appeal to the casual drinker and experienced mixologist (more on that term in a minute), alike.
Brad was kind of enough to sit down with me the other night at Char No. 4, where we drank rye bucks and talked about his influences, bar linguistics, and the power of positive drinking.
Have you been watching Portlandia this season? Specifically the lampooning of homemade bitters?
I watched the first season and had seen online that they were taking on mixology. And I had just been to Portland on my book tour and I went to Clyde Common and I met Jeffrey Morganthaler, who is the guy who brought us barrel aging cocktails and things like that. You could guess which direction they were going to go with it. And the next morning on Facebook, my editor joked with me, “I think you might be responsible for this. The first bitters joke in pop culture.”
You know have you have arrived when you’re being mocked on Portlandia.
Exactly. It was funny. And I liked all the other ingredients mentioned in there like rotten bananas. But I really appreciated the pause after he mentioned bitters. . . “I made them at home.” It was really fun. And spot on, for sure.
What are your favorite bitters?
Whether you’re just getting into bitters are are running a professional bar, I think it’s essential to have Angostura, Peychaud’s, and an orange bitters on hand. These are the holy trinity of bitters and offer a springboard to kicking up so many different cocktails. If you’re looking to branch out into new flavors beyond that, I would recommend adding a chocolate mole bitters and a grapefruit bitters to your line-up. Bittermens out of Brooklyn make two of the best out out there with their Xocolate Mole bitters and Hopped Grapefruit bitters. My most-reached for bitters at home is Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters. It’s a limited-edition run of their aromatic bitters that’s aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels and it has a really pronounced cinnamon candy snap to it that I just love in bourbon drinks. Scrappy’s Cardamom bitters out of Seattle, is just terrific and I’ve been hooked on Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters Black Mission Fig bitters. I brought dozens of bitters with me on the road during the book tour for people to sample and the Black Mission Fig and a Roasted Macadamia bitters from Zach Feldman’s Bitters Old Men were two of the crowd favorites.
Have you gotten any odd reactions from people when they learn you make your own bitters?
I’m moving and my place now is on the market and there have been open houses. And I’d have to leave for those but there’d still be this wall full of various jars and vessels. And one of the people said to the realtor, “Whoever lives here, I think you better call homeland security.”
A lot of mysterious potions! Let’s talk for a second about the term mixology. I know I’ve always had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I like that it suggests a level of import and craft goes into making drinks and tending bar. But on the other end, well, it’s kind of pretentious. Where do you stand with it?
I call myself an enthusiast. I had limited time, like four years, behind a bar in college. I frequent bars and restaurants on a regular basis but because I don’t do time behind the stick, as they say, I don’t feel strongly either way about the usage. Depending on the context, I will sometimes throw it out there but I think generally people in the profession prefer bartender because the word mixologist can sound affected or pretentious. We tried in the book to have different kinds of bartenders. I didn’t want it to be all old-timey and arm garters. There’s definitely a lot going on with the term mixology that is valid. Taking cues from the kitchen, taking cues from history, the idea of bartending as the craft it was before prohibition. It was a respected trade: butcher, baker, bartender.
Of the classic cocktails in the book, what is your favorite to underline what bitters can bring to the party?
I have a section in the book called Bitters Hall of Fame, the four drinks that have historically kept bitters alive. For me, my favorite is the Old Fashioned, the classic version where it’s rye or bourbon, bitters, a little rich syrup, and a thick lemon peel. There’s also that muddled fruit version, associated with the 50s through the 70s, where it’s a big orange peel and a bright maraschino cherry, sugar. Sometimes I do like going with the fruit one because the granualated sugar gets in your teeth a little bit and it’s much sweeter and it reminds me of the drinks I used to steal sips of from my dad. But in terms of pure flavor and historical significance, I like the original Old Fashioned because it’s a template and you can take it in so many directions, mix up your spirit, mix up your syrup, mix up your bitters.
How about the newer cocktails in the book. Which is your favorite?
I’m definitely a bourbon and rye guy. I gravitate to those. And of the new look drinks, some of those are mine, some of those are from other bartenders, and the breakout drink among those has been the Autumn Sweater, which is a little bit on the sweet side but it’s rye, Amaro Nonino, Averna, with maple bitters and orange bitters. And it’s served with a big rock or a big sphere (of ice) and it’s named after the Yo La Tengo song. It’s supposed to be this bittsweet, change of season drink, and that one’s really caught on. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of bars put it on their menu. At my book party at Prime Meats, we turned it into a punch.
You mentioned your dad before. I have to say, I love the dedication photo of him in the book. Tell me more about him and his influence on you and the book.
He was a spiritual guide for sure. He passed away in 2008. He was a huge influence on me and remains a huge influence. He was an airline mechanic for pretty much his whole life. He went to the Navy and then he was with Allegheny Airlines and eventually wound up with US Air. He worked the night shift. After my folks got divorced, it wasn’t until I got into my own as a teenager where he and I bonded a lot, especially post college. I stayed with him during the summers and spent a lot of time with him. He belonged to a social club and he had a couple of taverns he liked going to. I’m a big fan of going out, dining at the bar. I don’t need to have a group of people with me to have a good time. He taught me how to respect the convivality and ritual of things, of going into bars. He was a guy’s guy, quiet, knew how to observe things, helluva sense of humor. At a certain point, he stopped drinking spirits, but I have a lot of his cocktail gear from when he and my mom would have cocktail parties in the 70s, shakers, ice picks. Those mean a lot to me. I wish he was here to see the achievement of the book. That would have meant a lot to him. He was a great guy.
BOOK EXCERPT
Reprinted with permission from Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
The Autumn Sweater
We could slip away
Wouldn’t that be better?The bittersweet lyrics of “Autumn Sweater,” from Yo La Tengo’s 1997 album, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, serve as the source material for this melancholy change-of-season shoegazer. Serve it over a large block of ice, or over an ice sphere–even better to evoke a fat harvest moon hanging in the nighttime sky.
Made in Sicily since 1868, Averna is a syrupy, bitter herbal liqueur. It isn’t overpowering, though, and is a great gateway amaro if you’re interested in exploring potable bitters. Amaro Nonino is another mild Italian digestif whose caramel color and warm, spicy burnt orange notes round out the full fall flavors here. Wrap yourself in an Autumn Sweater and embrace what the season has in store for you.
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.
