What is Orange Bitters?

Orange bitters are a style of concentrated alcoholic infusion in which citrus peel is the dominant botanical, supported by bittering agents (often gentian) and spices. They are not Angostura with orange added, and they are not orange liqueur. Common mixing bottles include Regans’ Orange Bitters No. 6 and Angostura Orange — related by category, not by formula.

Their cocktail role is seasoning for gin drinks, especially the martini, where they underline peel oils already present in gin and dry vermouth. They will not produce an Old Fashioned.

Orange oil, gentian or other bitter roots, and light spice. Brighter and less baking-spice than Angostura aromatic bitters. The orange is peel and dried fruit, not juice, so the register is aromatic rather than pulpy or sweet.

Nineteenth-century bars commonly stocked several bitters, orange among them. The style nearly disappeared in the 20th century as aromatic bitters (Angostura) became the single default bottle.

It returned with the late-20th- and early-21st-century martini revival, when bartenders wanted a citrus-peel seasoning that did not read as clove and cinnamon.

One or two dashes in a martini or other stirred gin drink. Do not substitute 1:1 for Angostura in whiskey drinks; the botanical profiles occupy different parts of the seasoning map. Store at room temperature.

If a recipe specifies orange bitters, that specification is load-bearing.