The vintage bitters bottle in two lines
This is the 90 millilitre glass bottle with the dripper, the fitting that lets the liquid out in drops: it pours bitters such as angostura and any house preparation in dashes. It measures 7 x 7 x 13 centimetres.
Who it is for
For anyone making their own bitters and anyone wanting them out of the original bottle. Those are two different needs leading to the same object: one bottle shape for every preparation makes the station readable at a glance, and a dripper doses better than any bottle neck.
What a dash actually is
It is the amount that leaves a drop dispenser with a flick of the wrist, and in practice it sits between seven and ten tenths of a millilitre: it is not a codified unit, it is what that fitting lets through. And that is exactly why a vintage bitters bottle with a dripper is worth more than a pipette: the dose becomes repeatable because it depends on the tool and not on the hand, and two different bartenders put the same amount in the same drink.
Specifications
- Capacity: 90ml
- Material: glass
- Dosing: in dashes, through a dripper
- Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 13cm
- Washing: by hand, in warm water
Why bitters are dosed in drops
Because they are concentrated. An aromatic bitter runs between forty and forty five per cent alcohol and carries extracts of spices and roots in quantities nothing else on the bar comes close to: two or three dashes change an Old Fashioned, ten ruin it. It is the only cocktail ingredient measured in tenths of a millilitre, and it wants a vessel built for that.
Ninety millilitres, and how often you refill
Ninety millilitres are roughly a hundred dashes, so one bottle covers several weeks on a bitter used often and months on a niche one. It is the right capacity for a house preparation, which wants using within sensible timescales: filling a larger bottle means keeping too much of it open for too long.
Glass and light
Aromatic extracts are sensitive to direct light, which dulls their scent over time: a vintage bitters bottle belongs in view on the bar but not on a windowsill nor under a spotlight aimed at it. It is a precaution that costs nothing and that tells on a house preparation after a few months.
Care
Hand wash in warm water, and rinse thoroughly before changing preparation: a spiced bitter leaves a trace in a bottle that will then hold a citrus preparation. The dripper comes off and is rinsed separately, because that is where the extracts settle and dry.
Why decant the angostura
For two practical reasons. The first is the dose: the original bottle has a spout that lets out a stream, while a vintage bitters bottle with a dripper doses in repeatable drops. The second is how the station reads: a row of matching bottles with clear labels is read in one glance even at speed, while bottles of different shapes force you to hunt. Anyone working a list with many bitters decants everything, including the commercial ones.
FAQ
How much does the vintage bitters bottle hold? 90 millilitres, roughly a hundred dashes.
What is a dash? The amount that leaves the dripper with a flick of the wrist: in practice between 0.7 and 1 millilitre.
Does it suit house preparations? Yes, and that is the most frequent use alongside angostura.
What size is it? 7 x 7 x 13 centimetres.
How is it washed? By hand in warm water, with the dripper rinsed separately.
The more you buy, the less you pay: 4 pieces -5%, 6 -7%, 8 -10%, on the same item.
Dispatched from Rome, Italy. 15-day returns, free of charge. Questions before you order? Message us on WhatsApp on +39 351 929 6937.
The other bitters vessels are in the bitters bottle guide.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.