Kruidenbitter
The little glass that comes to the table after a meal: dark, herbal, and bittersweet. What kruidenbitter exactly is, which styles there are, what it tastes like, how to drink it, and which glass goes with it.
The best-known herbal bitters
Four bottles found in almost every bar, from sweet and ice-cold to completely dry.
Jägermeister
Made in Wolfenbüttel since 1934, with 56 herbs, roots, blossoms, and spices, and aged for a year in oak barrels. The sweetest of this selection and best served straight from the freezer.
About Jägermeister →Underberg
Herbs from 43 countries, wrapped in brown paper since 1846. Sugar-free, distinctly bitter, and intended as a single serving after a meal.
About Underberg →Fernet-Branca
The Milanese amaro from 1845 with more than 27 herbs, minty and intensely bitter. Among bar staff, a shot of Fernet is considered a drink shared among themselves.
About Fernet-Branca →
Schrobbelèr
The Brabant herbal liqueur with 43 herbs, made since 1965. Smooth, sweet, and at 21.5% the lightest bottle in this selection, inextricably linked with carnival.
About Schrobbelèr →Every kruidenbitter listed by brand
5 brands and 2 flavors, each with its own page about flavor, cocktails, and the right glass.
Herbs, roots, and peels in distilled spirits
Herbal bitters are distilled drinks flavored with herbs, roots, and peels. Think gentian root, anise, ginger, licorice, saffron, bay leaf, and citrus peel; recipes range from a handful of ingredients to well over fifty and are a secret for almost every brand. The result is dark, herbal, and usually bittersweet: a sweet start followed by the bitterness of the roots. Most contain between 20 and 45% alcohol, with sweeter bottles at the lower end of that range and dry, distinctly bitter ones at the higher end.
The production is more or less the same everywhere. The herbs steep in alcohol for weeks to months, sometimes the mixture is distilled, and afterward it often rests for some time in oak barrels. The amount of sugar finally added determines which category the bottle falls into: if it contains more than one hundred grams of sugar per liter, it is legally a liqueur. That is why Jägermeister is officially classified as Kräuterlikör, while Underberg has no added sugar and is purely bitter. In stores, they simply stand next to each other, because in practice you use them in the same way.
And that use is almost always the same ritual: after a meal, in a small glass holding two to four centiliters. Bitter compounds such as gentian stimulate digestion, which is precisely why these drinks were once devised as medicine and later remained on the table as digestifs. The temperature depends on the brand. A sweeter herbal bitter is best served ice-cold from the freezer, because the cold tempers the sweetness; a dry Italian or German bitter, on the other hand, should be served at room temperature so the herbs can open up.
In brief
Five styles, from soft and sweet to completely dry
Every country has its own version, and the difference lies mainly in the sugar and in how far the makers let the bitterness go. You do not drink an entire bottle in this lineup, but use it drop by drop.
German herbal liqueur
The sweeter style: lots of herbs, a year in oak, and enough sugar to tame the bitterness. Dark, warming, and the best-known of them all. It should be served ice-cold from the freezer.
Digestive bitter
Dry, strong, and with no added sugar, made to drink after a heavy meal. Underberg only sells it in 2 cl servings because more is not the point.
Italian amaro
The Italian branch, ranging from lightly bitter to extremely bitter. Fernet-Branca is at that extreme: menthol-like, medicinal and barely sweet. In Argentina, it is mixed with cola.
Dutch herbal bitter
Beerenburg made with a genever base from the north and Schrobbelèr from Tilburg. Lower in alcohol, softer and sweeter than the German and Italian bottles, and almost always served ice-cold.
Cocktail bitters
Not a sipping drink but a flavouring. A concentrated tincture of gentian and spices, of which a few drops are enough to give a cocktail depth. Neat, it is undrinkably sharp.
Almost every country makes its own herbal bitter, and the same shelf also holds bittersweet Italian aperitifs.
Bittersweet, herbal and warm
Herbs & roots
A dense bouquet of dried herbs, roots and baking spices: anise, ginger, cloves and liquorice, underpinned by the earthy note of gentian. Sweeter brands add a layer of caramel.
Bittersweet and full
Usually sweet and syrupy at first, followed by bitterness spreading across the tongue. The less sugar there is, the sooner the bitterness appears: in a dry digestif bitter, it is there immediately and the sweetness is completely absent.
Long, warm and cooling
The herbs linger for minutes, often with a menthol-like, cooling edge. That is precisely what makes a small glass so pleasant after a heavy meal.
Average profile for the category. Jägermeister and Schrobbelèr are higher in sweetness; Underberg and Fernet-Branca score around 1 for sweetness and around 4 for strength.
Three ways to drink herbal bitters
The serving is always small: two to four centilitres is enough. Only the temperature varies, and that depends on how much sugar is in the bottle.
Ice-cold as a shot
Put the bottle in the freezer for a few hours and pour 2 to 4 cl into a pre-chilled shot glass. At 35%, nothing freezes; the drink simply becomes thicker and much less sweet. This is how you drink Jägermeister, and how Brabant serves its Schrobbelèr too.
The right glass →As a digestif after a meal
A dry herbal bitter doesn't want freezing temperatures: pour 2 to 4 cl at room temperature into a small stemmed glass and let it stand for a moment. That's when the herbs really open up. Underberg is served as a single 2 cl portion, while Fernet-Branca is served in a shot glass.
About Underberg →With cola or tonic
4 cl of herbal bitters with about 12 cl of ice-cold cola in a long drink glass filled with ice, garnished with a slice of orange. In Argentina, this combination with Fernet-Branca is called a Fernandito; in Friesland, they do the same with Beerenburg. Tonic works too and keeps it drier.
About Beerenburg →The best-known cocktails with herbal bitters
A drinkable herbal bitter is used at 1 to 2 cl in a cocktail; cocktail bitters such as Angostura are used with a few dashes instead. Both roles are shown below.
Jägerbomb
A shot of Jägermeister dropped into a glass of energy drink. Fast, sweet, and loud.
Hanky Panky
Gin and sweet vermouth with a splash of Fernet-Branca, which adds a spicy herbal note.
Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar, and a few dashes of Angostura over one large ice cube.
Manhattan
Whiskey and sweet vermouth, stirred with bitters and poured ice-cold.The right glass for herbal bitters
Small is the starting point: a shot glass when it comes out of the freezer, a stemmed shot glass for a digestif. If you're adding cola or making a cocktail, use a larger glass. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about herbal bitters
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