Bitters

Alcoholic spirits infused with botanicals such as herbs, roots, fruits and leaves, are called Bitters.
Bitters consist of water and alcohol which has been steeped with various herbs, fruits, leaves etc. Bitters are not to be drank neat or even as the base spirit of a cocktail, these are usually concentrated alcoholic concoctions and just a dash or a few drops are all we need to add that taste to a cocktail.
There are exceptions and some bitters like the Italian Amari is consumed without mixing in a cocktail. It has a bitter sweet taste and alcohol content is somewhere between 16%-40%. Generally in Europe its being consumed as an after dinner digestif.

Blended Scotch Whisky

Scotch Whisky or simply Scotch is one of the most famous traditional whisky, the other being Irish Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, American Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey, Japanese Whisky and Australian Whisky.

Just like in Ireland ( Uisce Beatha ), the Scottish word for Whisky is a derivative of the Scottish Gaelic word Uisge Beatha, meaning the Water of Life.

Scotch Whiskey is a Geographically Identified Product and there are regulations that has to be met for a Whisky to be labeled a Scotch Whisky.

Traditionally Scotch Whisky is made from malted barley, but there had been deviation and variations too. A distinctive characteristic of a Scotch Whisky is drying of the malted barley over a peat fire, that attributes a smoky aroma to the Whisky. post distillation, maturation or aging is done in oak barrels previously used for bourbon whiskey, Sherry, Wine, Fortified Wine, Rum and other Spirits. This Aging process that spans years is the largest contributing factor that impact the flavour of the Whisky.

To be labeled a Scotch, a Whisky has to be pass several guidelines and production standards designed by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009.

• 1. Comprises a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
• 2. Contains no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
• 3. Is produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
  • 3.1 Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
  • 3.2 Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)
  • 3.3 Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
  • 3.4 Processed at that distillery into a mash
• 4. Is wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years
• 5. Retains the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation

Dry Vermouth

Vermouth the French for German Wermut, Wormwood in English, is an aromatic fortified Wine, flavoured with various botanicals like roots, barks, flowers, herbs, seeds and spices.

Although traditionally Vermouth was used for medicinal purposes, it has been also served as an apéritif in its modern avatar. The modern Vermouth first appeared in and around the 18th Century in Turin. By the late 19th Century it became very popular with bartenders as a key ingredient in cocktail mixology.

Martini, Manhattan, Rob Roy and Negroni were a few cocktails that Vermouth grew in popularity with. But later during the 20th Century, Vermouth slowly lost its glory and Dry Martinis and extra Dry Martinis with little or no Vermouth gained over the original Martini. Modern Martinis usually have a splash of Vermouth to add that herbacious texture to it.

Historically, there have been two Vermouth types, Dry and Sweet, but with demand variations have come up now. that include extra-dry white, sweet white, red, amber and rose.

Vermouth is produced by adding proprietory mixture of aromatic botanicals to a base wine or a base wine plus spirit or spirit only, which is usually redistilled before adding it to a base of neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must ( freshly pressed grapes and the juice ). After the wine is aromatised and fortified. it is sweetened and the end product is a Vermouth.

Dry Vermouth is what makes the character of the original Martini, and a Dry Vermouth has less sugar and is more herbacious but less spicier than Sweet Vermouth.

Anis

Anisette is as the name suggests, an anise flavoured liqueur most commonly consumed in the Mediterranean countries. It is a colourless, sweet liqueur and the sweetness comes from the added sugar, which is in contrast with dry anise flavoured spirits like Absinthe.

Anisette have two distinct production variations, one is a distilled drink, created by distilling fermented anise, and the other is a simple maceration of anise filtered to Anisette.

Note that often Pastis liqueur is confused with Anisette but Pastis is different and it uses Licorice and Anise.

Note: To substitute Anisette in a cocktail, if absolutely necessary, either steep Anise Extract and Anise Oil ( preferably Green Anise, since Anisette is created with Mediterranean Green Anise ) in neutral Vodka for a few days and add sugar syrup to finish, and use, or use Anise Seed and follow Home Recipes for Anisette to create your own.

Anise flavoured spirits or liqueurs had been in use for ages, but anise flavoured spirits gained popularity post the initial ban on Absinthe, the anise, fennel and wormwood derived spirit that has the notoriety of being a highly alcoholic spirit psychoactive and hallucinegenic drug, that was was banned for a while.

The most popular anise based or anise flavoured spirits are Absinthe, Anisette, Arak, Galliano, Pernod Fils, Ouzo, Pastis and many more.