Notes: One of a series of bitters from a relatively new company in Germany (although truth be told anyone other than Fee, Angostura, Underberg and Peychauds – all in business for over 100 years -is a relative newcomer), Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck the founders of the company, launched their unique products on the market in Germany in 2006, after making homemade bitters at bars because of the lack of any decent commercial bitters.

The other bitters in the series are: Bitter Truth Celery Bitters, Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters, Bitter Truth Xocoltatl Bitters , Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters, Bitter Truth Old Time Aromatic Bitters, Bitter Truth Orange Bitters, and the new Bitter Truth Creole Bitters. Celery bitters is another bitter that has been revived and dusted off after being extinct for too many years.

First Impression: Heavy lemon oil presence, much deeper lemon notes than most. Some herbal bitterness to it but quite light

Appearance: Very light yellow , and quite thick, almost a heavy glycerin body to it. Does not seem to have the dyes others use to darken their bitters.

Taste: A rather floral expression of a lemon bitters. Nicely understated with touch of other citrus/fruit and a few bitter herbal notes mostly cardamom and coriander, with a touch of orris root ? Much nicer in a understated way than many other lemon bitters who seem to rely on a brute force/overkill approach while preserving a nice citrus blast.

Drinks: Adds a lovely layer flavor without adding a jarring smell or taste to your tipple. For a non alcoholic use it is a lovely addition to your mineral water also.

Bottle: Dark brown glass old-style / apothecary bottle cylindrical bottom half, with a slightly bulbous neck which makes for a comfortable grip.

Other: One of the few bitters that can be found in a liquor store as opposed to a grocery store (at least around here).

Final Thoughts: Excellent execution and flavor- far too many times a lemon bitter will smell more like a cleaning product than something you would want to put in a drink – happily this is not the case with this bitter. A delicate, thoughtful expression of a lemon bitter. Down side for bean counting bar managers is cost. Yes, it costs 4 times as much as the cheap stuff – but take a look at our Bitter Math page to see how meaningless that is.

Website: http://the-bitter-truth.com