Bennett Bitters Lavender

Bennett Bitters Lavender is a lavender-flavored bitters from Esplanda, sold in the liquor store's bitters range. It is a flavoring ingredient, not a base spirit. The details on file don't give an ABV, a botanical list or a bottle size, so the points below describe what lavender bitters usually do. They aren't measured claims about this bottle. Expect a floral, perfumed aroma with a faintly herbal, slightly resinous edge, and a bitter finish that keeps the lavender from tasting soapy. Bitters are not sweet. Whatever sweetness a drink has comes from the other ingredients, and the lavender mostly adds aroma and a dry, savory-floral lift. Because it is concentrated, start small. A few dashes is the normal dose, and heavier pours can make a drink taste like potpourri. Bitters like this are meant to go into drinks, so cocktails are the main use. They suit gin well, since lavender sits comfortably beside juniper and citrus. Try a few dashes in a gin and tonic, a Gimlet, a Southside or a French 75. A dash or two also works in a Tom Collins or a gin sour, where lemon and a little sugar round out the floral note. Lavender bitters can also stand in for or sit alongside Angostura or orange bitters in an Old Fashioned made with a lighter, softer whiskey, or in a Champagne cocktail, where one dashed sugar cube takes on a perfumed, bitter edge. The easiest way to use it is in sparkling water. Add two or three dashes to a tall glass of soda over ice with a lemon or grapefruit twist for a dry, non-sweet drink. The same dashes work in tonic, ginger beer or a spritz, where the bitterness holds up against the bubbles. A dash can also go into a lemonade, a honey syrup or the foam of an egg-white sour, and it pairs with citrus peels, thyme and honey. For dessert, a dash or two on vanilla ice cream or in whipped cream is enough. Don't sip it neat. At full strength, bitters are far too intense to drink straight. Measure with the dasher, add a little at a time and taste as you go. Store the bottle upright, cool and out of direct light, and it will keep its aroma for a long time because of the alcohol content typical of the category.