Melvyn Minnaar
LIFESTYLE
In 1874 Mark Twain wrote to his wife from London: “Livy, my darling, I want you to be sure to have in the bathroom, when I arrive, a bottle of scotch whisky, a lemon, some crushed sugar and a bottle of Angostura Bitters. Ever since I have been in London I have taken in a wine glass what is called a cocktail (made with these ingredients) before breakfast, before dinner, and just before going to bed.”
He urges his beloved to be ready: “I love to picture myself ringing the bell, at midnight – then a pause of a second or two – then the turning of the bolt, and ‘Who is it?’ – then ever so many kisses – then I drinking my cocktail and undressing, and you standing by – then to bed, and – everything happy and jolly as it should be.”
No doubt Twain’s poetic yearning for his undressed wife was enhanced by the mellow mood brought on by the selfsame fashionable London cocktail. Contemporary adventurous amorists may well take Twain’s tip and try out this technique in a steaming bathroom. After all, the selfsame curious little bottle with the strange content is still very much around and plenty of poetry is still to be made.
In fact, after more than 125 years the world is still madly in love with this peculiar potion called Angostura Aromatic Bitters. Global sales are as buoyant as can be, according to the company whose headquarters are in the West Indian paradise islands.
Angostura Ltd is the star company of the West Indian Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Situated in the town of Laventille, it has diversified business interests including a massive rum market. The company has actively involved itself in local cultural and sporting activities, such as sponsoring the West Indies cricket team.
But this thriving company can trace everything back to that small 118ml bottle with the capricious label resembling a Victorian “cure-all”. It has a romantic history shrouded with highly marketable mystery, but it also represents a most successful business story that dates back 176 years – and is still on the roll.
Proclaiming an alcohol content of 45%, the label explains the contents as “an aromatic preparation of water, alcohol, gentian and vege-table flavouring extractives and vegetable colouring matter”.
In addition, it spells out the various uses of the liquid: for food flavour enhancement and drinks such as a Manhattan Cocktail or an Old Fashioned, but also its remedial effect as “stomachic, appetite stimulant and antidote to flatulence”. The label records the potion’s history and the numerous rewards and accolades it had received since 1830.
It was that year that one Dr JGB Siebert started selling his unique “aromatic bitters” and the point in history when the romantic legend took off in an admiring worldwide market.
German-born Siebert studied medicine, becoming an army surgeon in the Prussian infantry. In 1820 a sense for adventure led him to Venezuela, where he enlisted in the cause of independence under Bolvar.
The young doctor’s enthusiasm, talents and experience quickly got him appointed as surgeon-general in Guyana. It was here that his fascination with local tropical herbs led to experiments and the final formula for what was called “aromatic bitters” – a term denoting a general medical potion.
It proved greatly effective in local hospitals, in his private practice in the town of Angostura (now known as Ciudad Bolvar) and among his colleagues. As it became popular, Siebert established his “brand name” as Angostura Aromatic Bitters – after the town on the Orinoco River.
To this day the “recipe” of his prescription remains a romantic secret and the company puts great spin on the tale that only direct descendants of the old army surgeon know the exact ingredients and their proportions. The “gentian” mentioned among the ingredients on the label probably refers to a plant of the Gentiana or Gentianella genus which is found in those tropical areas. A bright violet colour, its extract has a centuries-old reputation as antiseptic and cure-all.
By 1870, when the good doctor died, Angostura Aromatic Bitters was famous throughout the world. Over the years its use changed from general medicine to a pick-me-up and finally as ingredient in mixed drinks.
These days the quaint little elixir is found in every decent contemporary drinks cabinet – if not necessarily on the bathroom shelf!