Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1119718
An old-fashioned–loving former bar manager tinkers with aromatic bitters to perfect her favorite drink. She later launches The Bitter Housewife line whose Cardamom Bitters won the 2018 sofi Product of the Year. Genevieve Brazelton, Improper Goods The Bitter Housewife Makes Good BY JULIE BESONEN I n 2018, the Specialty Food Association's highest honor, the sofi Award for Product of the Year, went to The Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters. Owned by Improper Goods, LLC, a Portland, Ore.-based compa- ny, the savory extract stood out from competitors across 39 categories. A woman's passion to perfect a cocktail was what started the ball rolling. The old-fashioned is Genevieve Brazelton's favorite drink, a bracing blend of bourbon or rye whiskey and a half-teaspoon of sugar dissolved in dashes of Angostura bitters and water. It's stirred, not shaken, poured over ice and garnished with lemon or orange peel. Although Genevieve worked in the restaurant industry for many years, she was more of a home bartender than a professional one and found herself tinkering with aromatic bitters. Cocktails' Spice Rack Bitters are often described as the spice rack for cocktail-making, accentuating and balancing flavors, adding depth or citrusy notes— and not necessarily bitter. In the 19th century, the alcohol-based, herbal infusions were primarily produced for medicinal purposes, said to aid in digestion and relieve stomach aches. Angostura Aromatic Bitters and Peychaud's Aromatic Cocktail Bitters long dominated the field, joined in this century by Regans' Orange Bitters No. 6 and Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters, among others. The cocktail revolution of the mid-aughts helped lead to the revival of Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters, founded in 1951 and on the brink of extinction until about 15 years ago. Around that time, a number of diligent bartenders in major cities across the country were spurred to handcraft their own complex botanical tinctures, though few ended up mass-marketing them. Genevieve and Dan Brazelton 74 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com producer profile