Regans' Orange Bitters No. 6

Rating: 18/23 I've been keen to try orange bitters for some time, seeing them as the next logical step in my cocktail making. I've heard they lean towards the more bitter and herbal side, but I'm hopeful the orange notes will still be noticeable. When making a maple syrup Old Fashioned with this and Old Forester 100, I found it resulted in a more bitter and herbal drink than just the Old Forester with maple syrup. However, it did mask the vegetal notes of the maple syrup. Although initially seeming a bit harsher, it ultimately seemed to serve the cocktail's purpose more effectively. Comparing it to another Old Fashioned made with Angostura, I found the Angostura (19/23) complemented the other ingredients better than the Regan's. When combining the two bitters, I found the result to be worse than either used alone. It became more muddled, with some of the maple's vegetal flaws still apparent, and the bitterness from the Regan's was also present. Therefore, I don't find this to be as good as Angostura. It's quite good and delivers the orange flavor well in a bitter format, but I wouldn't rate it a 19. It does improve upon the Old Forester 100 (15/23), so I'm considering a score of 15-18. I'm out of Old Forester, so I'm switching to Dickel 15 Single Barrel (15/23) to compare this with Peychaud's (17/23). Side-by-side, this is significantly better than the Peychaud's. The balance is much superior, and it's far better than the Dickel's with maple syrup without the bitters. I'm very impressed now. I now think this deserves a 17 or an 18. That's quite good. Adding an Angostura maple Old Fashioned made with the Dickel into the mix, it's clear that this and Angostura are superior to Peychaud's. So, this is definitely a 17 or an 18. It's a close call, but at least it's a narrow range now. It's a difficult decision, but ultimately, I'm going to say this is an 18. It's very enjoyable, but best suited for specific situations.

Orange peel, orange peel, orange peel. That's the only flavor I get. It's great for adding a kick to a drink that needs some life, but it lacks the intoxicating complexity of other bitters.

Compared only to Angostura orange, this is more bitter, spicier, and less like sweet candy orange. I regret not buying a smaller bottle of Angostura.

A common orange bitters found in many bars. It has a strong cardamom spice note. Excellent for brightening Old Fashioneds or adding spice to a Martini.

A dependable, standard bitters. Useful for adding orange aroma to drinks when expressing a peel is not practical.

Excellent orange bitters, nothing more needs to be said.