The Bar Cart Staple That Transforms Your Soda

Whether you're a fan of tequila, vodka, or rum, there are a few essential items that every bar cart should have; one of them is a bottle of bitters. A must-have ingredient for a classic old fashioned, bitters are infused with aromatic ingredients like botanical extracts, herbs, spices, and roots. Although they're most commonly used as a cocktail flavor balancer, this bar cart staple can transform your average soda with little more than a drop.

From citrusy and spicy to herbaceous and sweet, bitters can take on a diverse range of flavors. Despite their complex profile, bitters are designed to elevate a drink with subtlety. You might not even recognize its leading role in shaping each sip. Introducing bitters to soda is a creative way to infuse a bubbly drink with multi-dimensional accents that are dynamic but never dominating. They provide plain club soda, tonic water, and seltzers with a zippy flavor that makes each sparkly sip more intriguing. But it's not just clear sodas that benefit from the tasty treatment of bitters; they can also zhuzh up sugary sweet soda pops. Whether it's the mysterious 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper, the timeless taste of Coke, or the lemon-lime bite of Sprite, bitters can enhance, temper, or complement the unique essence of your favorite sodas.

Because bitters have a concentrated flavor, a little bit goes a long way. You don't need much more than a teaspoon of this liquid gold to jazz up your soda. Although bitters are an alcoholic ingredient, the ABV-to-bottle-size ratio is so low that the impact of the alcohol is negligible.

With hundreds of varieties of bitters on the market, there are endless flavor combinations. For a classic pairing, add a few dashes of Angostura bitters to a glass of Coke. The spicy, herb-tinted taste of the bitters dance harmoniously with the caramel-kissed essence of a good old-fashioned Coca-Cola. If you're craving something bright, infuse ginger ale or ginger beer with orange bitters to enjoy a spicy, invigorating, and citrus-forward sipping experience. Have a sweet tooth? Combine cream soda with cocoa bitters to achieve a rich, velvety drink punctuated by chocolatey goodness. And don't hesitate to use cocoa bitters-infused cream soda to make an adult-ish ice cream float.

If you prefer club soda and its fizzy relatives over sugar-packed pop, there are plenty of options for you too. Infuse an ice-cold Topo Chico with lime bitters or take a club soda and inject it with the cool taste of cucumber bitters. Whichever combination you prefer, pairing soda with bitters is a fun and creative way to give a familiar beverage an entirely new look.