Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

Aztec Chocolate Bitters from Fee Brothers is a cocoa-and-spice cocktail bitter, sold in a small dasher bottle and used a few drops at a time. It is not a liqueur or a sipping product. The chocolate character is the point: bitters in this style usually lean toward roasted cacao and dark, dry cocoa rather than sweet milk-chocolate flavor, with warm baking-spice notes behind it and a bitter edge on the finish. Because the sweetness comes from the drink you add it to, the bitters mostly contribute depth and aroma. The best use is as a modifier in spirit-forward drinks. In an Old Fashioned, two or three dashes in place of, or alongside, Angostura pull bourbon or rye toward a darker, mocha-like profile. Aged rum works especially well in a rum Old Fashioned or a Manhattan-style stir. Añejo tequila and mezcal are natural partners too, since chocolate and chile-adjacent spice have a long history together. It also suits coffee drinks, such as an espresso martini or a hot toddy-style coffee cocktail, where a dash sharpens the roasted notes without adding sugar. For more offbeat uses, try a dash in a Negroni or Boulevardier to deepen the bitter orange and vermouth. A drop or two also works in a glass of tonic or soda water with a citrus peel, which gives a dry, low-sugar drink with a cocoa aroma. Start with two dashes per cocktail and adjust, because the cocoa and spice build quickly in lighter drinks. Serve cocktails made with these bitters well chilled. Stirred drinks suit a rocks glass over a large cube or a chilled coupe. An orange peel expressed over the surface is a good garnish, since citrus oils highlight the chocolate. For food, dark chocolate desserts, roasted nuts, and grilled or smoked dishes are natural matches for a drink finished with these bitters.