The Easiest Trick To Balance An Overly Sweet Cocktail - Tasting Table

"David Kravitz, award-winning sommelier and Beverage Director at The Group Hospitality (which heads up prime spots like Boucherie, Omakase, and Olio e Più, the latter of which has locations in New York, Chicago, and D.C.), says it's possible to course-correct an overly sweet cocktail with one simple trick: Adding bitters. "Using bitters in overly sweet cocktails can act the same way as salting food," the beverage expert told Tasting Table, noting that a dash or two of bitters can help "balance and enhance the flavors.""

"Just like spices and acid can round out flavor profiles in cooking, you can use bitters in a variety of cocktails to provide symmetry by mellowing sweetness and imparting complexity. Made by distilling bitter components like dandelion root or juniper berries with spices in various alcohol bases, bitters are an easy solution for when you accidentally add too much sugar to a drink."

Adding bitters corrects overly sweet cocktails by balancing flavors similar to salting food. A dash or two of bitters can help balance and enhance flavors, and just a few dashes can change a drink's character. Bitters are produced by distilling bitter components such as dandelion root or juniper berries with spices in alcohol bases, providing bitterness that mellows sweetness and adds complexity. Bitters suit drinks like Old Fashioneds, orange creamsicle cocktails, and whiskey sours. Classic brands include Angostura Aromatic and Regan's Orange; citrus bitters excel in bourbon-forward cocktails to enhance spicy or woody notes.

Read at Tasting Table