Angostura
The bottle with the oversized label found behind every bar. Everything about what Angostura is, how many drops you need, which cocktails it belongs in, and which glass goes with it.
A medicine that became a bar classic
Angostura was created in 1824 by Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a German army doctor in the Venezuelan port town of Angostura, now Ciudad Bolívar. He was looking for a remedy for stomach problems among Simón Bolívar's troops and made a tincture of gentian root, spices, and herbs. The drink became more popular as a flavoring than as a medicine; production moved to Trinidad in 1875, where it is still made today.
Despite the name, it contains no angostura bark. The recipe is still secret and is said to be known by only a handful of people. The oversized label, which extends over the neck, was originally a mistake and has never been changed. At 44.7% alcohol, Angostura is strong, but you use it by the drop: a few dashes per cocktail.
In brief
What types of Angostura are there?
Angostura Aromatic Bitters
The original with the oversized label. Bitter and spicy with cinnamon, cloves, and gentian; a few dashes are enough.
Angostura Cocoa Bitter
Made with cacao nibs and exotic spices. Dark, chocolatey, and surprisingly good in an Espresso Martini.
Angostura Gran Añejo 7
Angostura also makes rum. This blend was aged for at least seven years in American oak: chocolate, tiramisu and burnt sugar.
Start with the Aromatic Bitters: one bottle lasts for years.
Bitter, spicy and much stronger than you think
Cinnamon & cloves
Warm baking spices, cinnamon, cloves and a dry spiciness. You can smell it from just one dash over a glass.
Bitter and concentrated
Neat, it's sharp and intensely bitter because of the gentian root. It's not meant to be drunk neat.
Depth and balance
A few dashes make a sweet cocktail more complex and rounded. Angostura brings the flavors together instead of laying its own flavor over them.
Flavor profile of Angostura Aromatic Bitters neat. In a cocktail, you taste it as spice and depth, not bitterness.
Three ways to use Angostura
Angostura isn't drunk neat: it's measured in dashes of about 1 ml. Two to four dashes per cocktail is standard.
In an Old Fashioned
Two dashes of Angostura on a sugar cube or 10 ml of sugar syrup, 60 ml of bourbon or rye and one large ice cube in a tumbler. Stir until cold and twist a piece of orange peel over the glass.
Go to the recipe →As a foam topping on a sour
Make a Pisco Sour or Whiskey Sour with egg white and drop three dashes of Angostura onto the foam. Draw a pattern in it with a cocktail pick; it smells wonderful too.
Pisco Sour recipe →In soda or sparkling drinks
Four dashes in a glass of soda water or tonic with ice and lemon makes an 'Angostura Lemonade': almost alcohol-free, bittersweet and refreshing. Also delicious in a Moscow Mule.
Moscow Mule recipe →The best cocktails with Angostura
Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar, ice and two dashes of Angostura. Without the bitters, it's just sweet whiskey.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, red vermouth and Angostura. The bitters make all the difference in this sweet cocktail.
Pisco Sour
Pisco, lime, sugar and egg white, with three drops of Angostura on the foam.
Champagne Cocktail
A sugar cube with Angostura, topped up with champagne. The simplest cocktail there is.The right glass for cocktails with Angostura
A heavy tumbler for the Old Fashioned, a coupe for the Manhattan and Pisco Sour, and a mixing glass for stirring. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything else you wanted to know about Angostura
Can't find your question here? Browse our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
To the cocktail recipes →What percentage of alcohol does Angostura contain?
How many drops of Angostura should you use?
What is Angostura made from?
Can you drink Angostura neat?
How long does a bottle of Angostura keep?
What's the difference between Angostura and Orange Bitters?
Buy Angostura
Want the bottle delivered straight to your door? Order Angostura online from Gall & Gall.
Prices as of November 5, 2026, as provided by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; you pay nothing extra. No 18, no alcohol.
