Skeleton Key

Fizzy, floral, and fun to look at, the Skeleton Key might become your new favorite cocktail. It's built with just four ingredients at the base. The fifth ingredient? Bitters.

Angostura Bitters

What are bitters? They are very concentrated extracts of herbs, roots, and spices that have been steeped in an alcohol base. Yes, they taste bitter!

In the ages past, they were like medicine to help with digestion (sometimes called digestifs) and other gastrointestinal ailments. And along the way, someone decided they'd be great in a drink, maybe to make them more palatable.

One of the most commonly used bitters today in the cocktail world is the Angostura brand. Originally crafted in 1824 by Dr. Siegart, a German living in Venezuela, these bitters were used as a medical elixir for the Venezuelan army. He eventually began selling and exporting the bitters all over the world.

Once the family moved to Trinidad, his three sons took over the growing business. At the beginning of the 20th century, cocktails came into popularity and the use of bitters played a role in their development. The result: cocktails like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Sazerac.

Companies all over the world produce a large range of bitters today. I tend to come back to Angostura bitters time and again because I like the classic taste.

Normally it's just two or three dashes of bitters in the crafting of a cocktail, but this one uses double that amount as a float. It's delicious!

Lessons Learned

• Use your favorite whiskey or bourbon (a specific type of American whiskey) in this.
• Don't have a cocktail jigger? No worries. Use your kitchen measuring spoons. For example, 2 Tablespoons = 1 ounce.
• Ginger beer is a non-alcoholic beverage with carbonation. It is similar to ginger ale but with more ginger-y flavor.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Tasting Table for the skeleton key cocktail recipe.

Print