ORLEANS APERITIFS
BITTER
A classic aperitif or digestif, we like Bitter in a Spritz or a Negroni. Our Bitter is comprised of a complex combination of healthful tinctures and botanicals. Angelica root is a perennial herb in the family of Apiceae, which is native to temperate and subarctic regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Found in abundance in China, it has a long history as flavor, food and medicine. In Japan the shoots are fried in tempura and in seacoast regions it is used as celery in cooking. The Aleut people of Alaska use the boiled roots for internal and external healing of wounds. It has also been used for centuries in Europe to relieve painful cycles for women, and in herbalism around the world it is known to be good for colic, digestion, and to support the nervous system, and soothe anxiety.
Gentian is a classic alpine plant of the tribe Gentianeae. Preferring wild habitats, some varieties can sometimes be tamed for the garden. It is highly prized for the intensity of its blue trumpet-like flowers, and is commonly used for making bitters, tonics, and aperitifs. It’s medicinal uses go well beyond aiding the digestion and have traditionally been used to treat everything from muscle spasms to sinusitis and even gout.
Taraxacum or Dandelion and Dandelion leaves also hail from the Asteraceae family and are thought to have evolved about 30 million years ago in Eurasia. Dandelions have been used as human food and as an herb for much of recorded history. They were well known to ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and are purported to have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over a thousand years. The plant was used as food and medicine by American Indian tribes, and they are thought to have come to North America on the Mayflower, brought on purpose for their medicinal benefits. In herbalism, they are used to stimulate digestion and as a spring tonic. They have also been used to benefit the liver and balancing hormones. Because of their springtime abundance they are one of the most vital nectar sources for a long list of wild pollinators, and it has long been a Western tradition to blow on a Dandelion seedhead with thoughts of wishes wanted to come true.
Red currants are a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family, and exist natively across Europe. They are widely cultivated as edible fruit, but have also escaped into the wild. Culinary uses are many fold: jams, desserts, jellies, cooked sauces. In France, the rare Bar-le-duc, or Lorraine jelly is a spreadable preparation made with white or red currants, the pips removed from the plant always by hand or a goose feather. In herbalism, red currants are used to aid the digestion and a concoction of them can be used externally to relieve rheumatic symptoms, or as a poultice to relieve sprains or reduce the pain of dislocations.