Botany at the Bar: The Art and Science of Making Bitters

If you're looking for a how-to book to create your own bitters recipes or if you want to replicate bitters available on the market (as well as some that bougie taverns and bars have created), then this book is a fabulous guide. There's a lot of science in the book, too, for the folks who nerd out on it. As a working flavor chemist, the science is what drew me to the book and keeps me reading it. There's something interesting on every page.This book is great if you just want a recipe book for making your own bitters at home. If you want to make changes, or avoid unsafe botanicals, or not use alcohol in your bitters, there is information on how best to do these things. And more!It's clear that the authors are working scientists as the book has the structure of a scientific paper, while being much more accessible and proceeding at a relaxed, almost languid, pace. The authors really make the science approachable and interesting. This is great because this science is awesome!Having trouble finding the odds & ends needed to make the bitters? The authors include a resources section for ingredient suppliers. There are some arcane and unique ingredients that can't be found at your local supermarket in these recipes so this section is very handy.Bitters aren't just for cocktails! I've been adding a bit of Regan's Orange Bitters to my morning Greek yogurt to lift the flavor of the fruits I incorporate. Now I can make a batch of my own and customize it to suit. This might make some nice holiday gifts, too.Thank you Drs. Ahmed, Duval and Meyer for writing a fabulous book. This one is a keeper for many reasons.

Beautifully illustrated, lots of REALLY unique recipes for bitters, cocktails, syrups, and shrubs. This isn't just a recipe book either. It contains lots of great information about plants cultural uses, traditional medicinal uses, and their botany. I can tell I'm going to learn so much from this book. Guaranteed this will help you make the most unique cocktails you or any of your friends have ever had!

This is a delightful book, with wonderful illustrations and all kinds of information about making herbal concoctions, specifically "bitters" for cocktail making. I bought this as a gift for a friend but might have to get one for myself as well.

One can't argue with the authors' qualifications: ethnobotanists, lab leaders at major universities, entrepreneurs who founded their own bitters company, and consultants to industry and government on a range of issues. That breadth of knowledge comes through clearly in this book - as does their pleasure in the occasional mixed drink. With that base of knowledge, they offer history, background, and recipes from every populated continent. As students of people's interaction with the plant world, they note many botanicals' place in traditional medicine. That's only an incidental theme, for which I'm grateful; I don't much care for the magical woo that some authors mix into their recipes.The DIY section starts with "Beginners' recipes," very approachable mixes with readily available ingredients. These authors prefer a generally lower ratio of botanicals to solvent than other writers. As a result, they suggest using higher amounts of the preparations, to get the full effect of the flavors. I certainly don't have the lab experience they do to understand the reasoning; I note it only as a quirk of this text. After the first few recipes, the flavorings become increasingly exotic. The "Oman incense" recipe involves frankincense and and myrrh, for example, and I would have no idea where to find the black currant leaves in one of the "Forager's" recipes. Many of their bitters don't have any bittering agents that I could identify. You could call this stretching the definition of bitters, or broadening the scope of the investigation. Their descriptions of vinegar-based shrubs certainly falls into the latter category.The  Parsons  book introduced me to DIY bitters, and it's still the title I recommend first. This one, however, complements it and adds a wider view of how people around the world add flavor to their lives.-- wiredweird

Amazing literature from real scientists & beautiful ❤️ author's ! Recommended to all enthusiast and pros that like too mix alcohol..

What a beautifully put together book! Includes tons of historical [yet interesting] context and super yummy cocktail recipes. Would highly recommend!!!!

If you're looking for a comprehensive book on herbs for bitters, look no further. This book has everything from

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