Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters 5OZ

Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters 5OZ is a hand-crafted, all-natural cocktail bitter made in Seattle, Washington, bottled at 52% ABV in a 5-ounce dasher bottle. Founded by bartender Miles Thomas, the Scrappy's line has earned recognition from Bon Appétit, Food Network, Top Chef, and Time Out New York for its uncompromising small-batch approach.

Quick Facts: ABV: 52%  |  Origin: Seattle, Washington, USA  |  Style: Single-Flavor Aromatic Bitters  |  Producer: Scrappy's Bitters

Production & Heritage

Scrappy's Bitters was founded by Miles Thomas, a Seattle bartender whose deep study of herbs, botanicals, and extraction techniques led him to develop a line of bitters made entirely by hand. The production team hand-zests all fresh citrus in-house, never relying on essential oils or commercial extracts, and processes every ingredient in a single facility. Each batch is numbered by hand after meticulous inspection, reflecting a philosophy that better bitters can only come from genuinely artisanal methods. The Cardamom expression showcases that ethos, capturing the complexity of whole cardamom through careful extraction rather than shortcut flavoring.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: The nose opens with intense cooked cardamom, moving into brighter notes of fresh green cardamom pod. Lemon zest and a subtle floral quality emerge beneath the dominant spice.

Taste: On the palate, herbal cardamom leads immediately, building into a pleasantly spicy warmth at mid-palate. Lemon and lime sweetness intercept the spice before it overwhelms, followed by quinine-like bitterness and fresh green peppercorn. The bitterness registers as medium-high, well-structured and balanced against the sweeter citrus and floral layers.

Finish: The finish is smooth with lingering forest-floor earthiness and a persistent cardamom warmth. Residual citrus brightness keeps the ending clean rather than heavy.

How to Drink Scrappy's Cardamom

Start with two to three dashes in a spirit-forward cocktail to gauge the intensity; the 52% ABV carries flavors assertively even in small amounts. A few specific cocktails where these bitters excel:

• Cardamom Old Fashioned — two dashes replace or complement Angostura, adding an aromatic, Eastern-spice twist to bourbon or rye.
• Gin & Tonic with Cardamom Bitters — a single dash bridges the botanical complexity of London Dry gin with the quinine in tonic water.
• Improved Whiskey Sour — two dashes layered with lemon juice amplify the citrus-spice interplay and add depth to the foam.

Best For

• Home bartenders building out a specialty bitters collection beyond Angostura and Peychaud's
• Gifting to a cocktail enthusiast who values small-batch, all-natural ingredients
• Adding Middle Eastern or South Asian-inspired spice notes to seasonal cocktail menus
• Upgrading classic stirred drinks like Manhattans and Old Fashioneds with an unexpected aromatic layer

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Scrappy's Cardamom taste like? It delivers intense, true-to-pod cardamom spice balanced by lemon-lime citrus sweetness and a medium-high bitterness, with subtle floral and forest-floor undertones.

How does Scrappy's Cardamom compare to Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters? Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters uses glycerin as a base rather than high-proof alcohol, resulting in a sweeter, thicker texture with less aromatic intensity. Scrappy's relies on an organic alcohol base at 52% ABV, which many bartenders find carries botanical flavors more effectively into a finished cocktail.

Is Scrappy's Cardamom good for cocktails? It is designed specifically as a cocktail ingredient and performs well in both stirred and shaken drinks, particularly those built on whiskey, gin, or rum bases where warm spice adds complexity.

Where is Scrappy's Cardamom made? Scrappy's Bitters is produced entirely in Seattle, Washington, where all ingredients are processed and bottled in a single facility under the oversight of founder Miles Thomas.

What foods pair well with Scrappy's Cardamom? Add a few dashes to complement chai-spiced desserts like cardamom panna cotta, drizzle over vanilla ice cream for an aromatic kick, use in a shrub alongside lamb dishes for a Middle Eastern accent, or incorporate into a honey glaze for roasted stone fruits where the citrus and spice notes mirror the fruit's natural sweetness.

What sizes does Scrappy's Cardamom come in? The standard size is a 5-ounce dasher bottle, which is the most widely available format for the Scrappy's bitters range.

Is Scrappy's Cardamom worth the price? It positions as a premium craft bitters made from all-natural ingredients with hand-numbered batches, placing it above mass-produced competitors in both quality of ingredients and intensity of flavor — a meaningful upgrade for serious home or professional bars.

Why Scrappy's Cardamom?

What separates this expression from other cardamom bitters on the market is the insistence on whole, natural ingredients and manual production at every step — from hand-zesting fresh citrus to numbering each finished batch by hand. The 52% ABV base ensures the cardamom and supporting botanicals integrate fully into cocktails rather than sitting on the surface. Media recognition from outlets like Bon Appétit and Top Chef reflects the brand's reputation among professional bartenders who rely on precise, consistent flavor. For anyone looking to move beyond the standard Angostura-and-orange category, Scrappy's Cardamom represents one of the most focused and well-executed single-botanical bitters available.