Regans'

Bartender and writer Gary Regan went through six prototype recipes before he settled on the orange bitters that carry his name. The Sazerac Company makes them.

About Regans'

Founded
2005
Known for
orange bitters created by bartender Gary Regan

Gary Regan, later known as Gaz, was born in Rochdale, England, in 1951. He started tending bar in his parents' pubs at 14, moved to New York in 1973, and worked behind the bar for more than two decades before becoming a cocktail writer, best known for The Joy of Mixology. In 2005 he launched his own orange bitters, made by the Sazerac Company.

The formula is based on a recipe from Charles Baker's 1930s book The Gentleman's Companion. The No. 6 in the name refers to the number of prototype recipes Regan went through.

Orange bitters go into stirred drinks by the dash. A 1907 recipe for the dry martini, for one, calls for two dashes with dry gin and French vermouth.

Regans' questions

What are orange bitters?

Bitters are strong alcohol flavored with botanicals such as herbs, roots and spices; the alcohol draws out the flavors and preserves them. They go into cocktails a few drops or dashes at a time, adding a bitter edge that balances sweet and sour ingredients. Orange bitters, made mainly from Seville orange peel and spices, were popular in the 1800s and appear in many older recipes; Regans' No. 6 is based on a 1930s formula.

What is The Gentleman's Companion?

It is a two-volume collection of food and drink recipes by the American writer Charles H. Baker Jr., first published in 1939. Baker spent much of his life traveling and gathered the recipes along the way; later editions were titled Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask and Around the World with Knife, Fork, and Spoon. Gary Regan built his orange bitters on a recipe from the book.

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