SAZERAC COMPANY INVESTS IN BITTERMENS

BITTERS ARE BIG business these days as mixologists continue to embrace them in the ever-evolving cocktail world. As evidence of this, one of the oldest producers of cocktail bitters in the United States is joining forces with the company that helped spearhead the modern bitters resurgence, as Sazerac recently purchased a strategic interest in Bittermens. The current owners, Avery and Janet Glasser will continue to lead the business and Sazerac will manage the sales, marketing, and distribution of all Bittermens brands. Sazerac’s involvement in the bitters category dates back to the 183Os, when Antoine Amedie Peychaud, owner of a New Orleans apothecary on Royal Street, treated his friends to brandy toddies of his own recipe, including his “Peychaud’s Bitters” made from a secret family recipe. This would be the precursor to the classic Sazerac Cocktail. Today Sazerac produces Peychaud’s Bitters along with Regans’ Orange Bitters at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky. Meanwhile, in San Francisco in 2OO7, Avery and Janet Glasser took a blend of cacao, citrus peel, chili peppers and other botanicals and created their first ever batch of bitters. These Xocolatl Mole Bitters created such a demand that eventually the Glassers launched America’s first contemporary bitters company,