You may not know it, but Santa Fe has a lot to offer in the world of drink. This is the first in a series of interviews with those who are putting Santa FE’s cocktail culture on the map.This interview is with my good friend Bill York, Propritor and Creator of Bitter End Bitters cocktail enhancers. Bill Started Biotter End about a year ago, and has created an international presence for his bitters.
Chris: What exactly are bitters?
Bill: Originally, they were used as tonics to cure everything from
headaches to dyspepsia. Today, they’re used primarily as flavorings for drinks,
cocktails in particular. The medicinal value has been put to the side in favor
of helping people make more interesting drinks. I like to think of them as
spices.
C: How did you first start making bitters?
B: I was bartending at a local place and thought I’d do a
little research into the craft. I picked up Gaz Regan’s “Joy of Mixology” which
included a recipe for orange bitters. I did a little research into what was on
the market for other types of bitters and decided to try my hand at it. I came
up with some stuff that I considered to be unique and I jumped on it.
C: Howe many different bitters do you make?
B: I currently have five flavors on the market. They’re all
based on extremely flavorful types of cuisine from around the world: Mexican
Mole, Thai, Jamaican Jerk, Moroccan, and Memphis Barbeque.
C: What made you choose to do a line of chile and spice bitters?
B: It was kind of a happy accident. Mole is a relatively
prevalent flavor of bitters, so I tackled that one first. When I developed the
recipe, I used a few different actual mole recipes; I cherry-picked the
ingredients I liked and took out the stuff I didn’t. I added a bit too much
chile for what I was going for until I realized that the heat level gave it the
aforementioned uniqueness.
C: Is Bitter End your full time job?
B: Unfortunately, no. I have to maintain my day job as an IT
geek until The Bitter End can pay me enough to make it my full-time gig.
C: If I were interested in buying one of Bitter End products,
where would I find them?
B: There’s a few retail shops around the country that I sell to
directly: Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, New York, and Santa Fe (Susan’s Fine
Wine and Spirits and Santa Fe P.S.). If you’re outside of these areas, it’s
probably easiest to get them from an online vendor, though. Kegworks.com and
Cocktailkingdom.com both carry The Bitter End.
C: What bars in Santa Fe are carting the Bitter End line of
chile based bitters?
B: Only one bar currently sells official drinks with our
products: Secreto at the Hotel St. Francis. A couple of other bartenders are
experimenting with our stuff and, naturally, I hope to see it behind their bars
soon.
C: What’s next? Can you tell us any secrets?
B: I do have a couple of new flavors in development. Hopefully,
I’ll get them out before the end of the year. This business is crazy right now
so I’m not going to divulge the actual flavors just yet. Stay tuned!
Thanks, Bill!!
