Are bitters really bitter

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A.� Spirits were originally introduced for your health. Any thoughts of pleasure were forgotten and while most have managed to extricate themselves from this original purpose, bitters remain firmly rooted in the past. They are often alarmingly bitter - and such an acquired taste. They're not massively popular in this country or the States, where the thought of drinking something to aid digestion is a peculiar thought.

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Q.� When were they first introduced

A.� They date back to the days of apothecaries, alchemists and distiller monks, and use secret amalgamations of roots, barks, herbs and peel to work their "magic" on your organs. You can find examples from Germany, Denmark, France, Spain and Trinidad, but the largest come from Italy - under the term Amaro - where it all started.

The notion of drinking something bitter to get the gastic juices going dates back to Ancient Greece - Hippocrates drank an amoro-style tonic, and there are records of a Roman patent medicine that is basically the same as a modern amaro, but without the spirit.

Such was the success of amari that several Italian monasteries grew herbs purely for the drink. In time their cultivation was taken care of by a specific order of the Fatebene (do-wells) - one of whom was eventually canonized, thus making amaro the only spirit with its own patron saint.

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Q.� Where does the bitterness come from

A.� The bitterness is always derived from from vegetal ingredient, and brands usually include one (or more) of the�following bitter substances: quinine, angelica, gentian, bitter orange, rue, nux, vomica, artichokes, wormwood, bitter aloes�and rhubarb root. The potion is given an aromatic lift by botanicals like vanilla, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, lavender and ginger.

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Q.� What's the bitterest of them all �

A.� The best known traditional Italian brand is Fernet Branca. It began as a chemist's potion at the beginning of the 19th century, uses over 30 herbs and spices, including rhubarb, liquorice and agarico bianco (mushrooms) for bitterness, and angelica, anise, lemon peel and peppermint for aroma. It is a digestif in the classic mould - powerful, explosive, and best not drunk in large quantities.

Campari is probably the best known Italian bitter, drunk mainly as an aperitif.

Germany is home to two of the most uncompromising brands of bitters - Jagermeister and Underberg. Jagermeister, whose recipe includes anise, poppy seeds, juniper and ginseng, is relaunching itself as a versatile drink for clubbers. It's the equivalent of the 90s' tequila slammer and because of its high alcohol content, produces a quick hit followed by oblivion. Underberg is packaged in tiny bottles wrapped in brown paper. It's meant as a digestif but is usually used as a hangover cure.

The two most famous Eastern European bitters are Hungary's Unicum and Melnais Balzans from Latvia. Unicum, started in 1790, uses 40 botanicals, whereas Melnais Balzans uses secret resins in its recipe and is said to be an unforgettable experience.

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Q.� Where do Angostura bitters come from

A.� They hail from South America. This powerful, aromatic brand was created by Dr Siegert, Simon Bolivar's German doctor who named it after a small town in Venezuela. It's still made to the same secret recipe, but is now produced in Trinidad. The company is fiercely protective of its recipe - all that is known is that is uses strong rum as a base and the genetian root as the main bitter agent. Originally a medicine for malaria, it is used in minute quantiities in many cocktails, including making a pink gin pink, it balances a Manhattan and mixed with Campari and gin, produces the Negroni.

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Katharine MacColl