Bitters are highly concentrated alcoholic tinctures flavored with blends of botanical matter, originally sold as patent medicines before people realized that just a few drops of them can deepen and balance an entire cocktail. Almost everyone is familiar with Angostura bitters (the kind in the bottle with a yellow cap and the label that’s too big), but there’s a whole bunch of other flavors of bitters out there too.

Chocolate bitters are some of the most interesting and transformative, imparting notes of bitter dark chocolate to any drink, like for example the Man About Town mentioned a few nights ago. Whether that’s a good idea or not is up to you.

Cocktail Recipe: Aztec Old Fashioned

Leaning into the Mesoamerican roots of chocolate, every component of the traditional Old-Fashioned is swapped out but the end result is just as classic and delicious. Build by stirring together with ice in a mixing glass before straining over a big ice cube in a rocks glass.

• 2 oz. Anejo Tequila
• 0.25-0.5 oz. Agave nectar (to taste)
• 1 tsp water
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• 2 dashes orange bitters