Bitters are to drinks what spices are to food. Indeed, a few drops will add a little magic – and will absolutely make you happier.
Hella Bitter has many lofty goals, but here’s the biggest: “We want people to understand how bitters work, and to use them regularly in their bars at home. You don’t have to be a fancy bartender to do that.” They love seeing the expression on people’s faces when first tasting a drink made with bitters.
did you know
Hella is a Bay Area expression for ‘really’ or ‘very’ or, simply, ‘good.’ Hence, Hella Bitter is hella bitter.
tip of the tongue
Hella Bitter’s intent here is to show off the rich spectrum of citrus, rather than focus on one variety. They work with nine types of citrus pith – each batch might contain (depending on what’s in season) Naval, Blood, Valencia, Satsuma, Temple, Tangelo, or Clementine oranges. Or grapefruit, pummelo, lemons and limes. High quality aromatics and spices are then added to the pith, such as fresh ginger, green cardamom, Saigon cinnamon sticks, whole star anise, fennel, coriander, black pepper and Gentian or Angelica root. After a month of maceration, the mix is filtered and sweetened with caramelized sugar. The result is a vibrant, well-balanced citrus bitters – great in a martini, with seltzer or any drink recipe calling for orange bitters.