Notes: One of a series of bitters from a relatively new company in Seattle Washington (although truth be told anyone other than Fee, Angostura,Underberg and Peychauds – all in business for over 100 years -is a relative newcomer). Founded by Thomas Miles of Tavern Law a couple years ago after making homemade bitters at the bar because of the lack of any decent commercial bitters (much like a few other small bitters companies).

The other bitters in the series are: Scrappy’s Lime Bitters, Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters, Scrappy’s Celery Bitters , Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters, Scrappy’s Grapefruit Bitters, Scrappy’s Lavender, and  Scrappy’s Lime Bitters,

Appearance: Orange gold, almost a goldenrod color , slightly oily body to it. Does not have the dyes others use to color to darken their bitters and hence has a very natural orange skin and oil look. 

First Impression: Bitter orange, burdock, gentian, nice vegetal notes complete the bouquet.

Taste: Very orange oil and gentian like taste with possibly some lemon and burdock.

Drinks: Adds a lovely and pure bitter orange component without a lot of other distracting flavors that some bitters like to add. Add a great accent to either a Martini of Manhattan along with many other drinks that require a bit of orange and spice. For a non-alcoholic use it is a lovely addition to your mineral water also.

Bottle: Clear glass old-style / apothecary bottle bitters type bottle with matching style of graphics on paper labels.

Other: They use organic ingredients whenever possible. Bitters are also available 1/2 0z bottles in gift packs and for easier carrying.

Final Thoughts: A very clean orange bitters – on the flip side not the most complex in terms of other elements.This of course works both ways – depending on what you are looking for in a bitters profile. While we like it we are a trifle underwhelmed by it in some ways. However it is a nicely done orange and adds to a rather thin category so probably a worth while purchase if you are looking for another orange bitter. As noted before a down side for bean counting bar managers is cost. Yes, it costs four times as much as the cheap stuff – but take a look at our Bitter Math page to see how meaningless that is. While frankly the utility of this bitter may not be as much as some it is absolutely spot on as a orange bitter

Website: http://www.scrappysbitters.com