Review: Scrappy's Bitters

"The latest bitters line I’ve become aware of are Scrappy’s, produced by bartender Miles Thomas of Tavern Law is Seattle. Miles produces six main bitters from standards like orange and grapefruit to more unusual flavours like chocolate and lavender, plus a limited seasonal run of an apricot bitters." 

(Source: here)

Flavors:

Celery – A strong celery seed taste with a fair bitterness is brightened by some background citrus hints. The finish is long, with a dry, vegetal, celery seed finish. Not as sharp and bright as The Bitter Truth celery bitters, but the strong vegetal flavours may work well in mixed drinks.
Cardamom – Surprisingly sweet, the cardamom is more subtle than you might expect and initially almost dominated by citrus notes. However the spice maintains a lasting flavour on the tongue leaving a nice aromatic finish. Much less bitter than the Bob’s Cardamom, and less cardamom led, but the overall profile is nonetheless interesting. Strikes me as having a lot of potential in more aromatic drinks.
Lavender – A strong lavender aroma follows through with a bright lavender flavour that develops a rather astringent taste before revealing a heavy spice then fading in to a slightly earthy, bitter finish with a hint of sweetness. Bob’s Lavender provide a more rounded flavour profile but I’m sure the powerful flavours here would work well in a drink that can balance them sufficiently.
Orange – A surprisingly light nose belies a strong fresh orange flavour with underlying bitter orange notes. Spice and a light bitterness follow, but the finish is short and uneventful, leaving the overall experience is a little underwhelming. Not a bad bitters, but given the great orange bitters already available I’m not really sure how
Chocolate – Made using toasted cacao nibs these have a strong vanilla aroma and a flavour that starts with a medium chocolate note followed by lots of vanilla. The finish brings a little spice and a deeper, slightly woody cacao flavour. Very different to the deeper, more bitter Bittermens Xocolatl bitters, these provide a more straight forward chocolate flavour but retain a depth that makes for a very interesting bitters. Infinitely superior to the Fee’s Aztech Chocolate.  (Source: here)

Recipes

The Black Manhattan

• + 2 oz Rye whisky
• + 3/4 oz Averna amaro
• + ¼ oz Black strap rum
• + 2 dashes Scrappy’s Chocolate bitters
• + orange twist

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