Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Bitters

No. Bark & Bitter bitters are non-alcoholic and formulated without any alcohol. Each product page lists full ingredient information so you can choose with confidence when building alcohol-free drinks.

Non-alcoholic bitters play the same functional role as traditional bitters. They are not sweeteners, and they are not meant to be sipped on their own. Instead, they act as seasoning ingredients, much as salt or acid does in food.

A few dashes of bitters add bitterness (of course), flavour, aroma, and structure to a drink. They help balance sweetness, sharpen notes like citrus, and pull individual ingredients together into something that tastes intentional rather than flat. In alcohol-free cocktails and mocktails, bitters are especially important because they replace the complexity and grip that alcohol would usually provide, adding depth and texture that might be missing from some non-alcoholic spirits.

Used correctly, non-alcoholic bitters do not dominate a drink. They create contrast, depth, and finish, turning simple ingredients into a well-rounded drink that feels complete.

Not all bitters serve the same purpose. Different styles are designed to support different types of drinks and flavour profiles.

Aromatic Bitters

Aromatic bitters are the backbone of many classic cocktails. Built predominantly around warm baking spices, herbs, and botanicals, they add structure, depth, and balance to drinks that lean toward sweet, spirit-forward, or stirred styles. In alcohol-free cocktails, aromatic bitters are often used to recreate the complexity and backbone of classics like the Old Fashioned or Manhattan, and also find a great home in tropical/tiki-style drinks, offering an accent of spice to citrus and tropical-forward flavours.

If you're new to non-alcoholic bitters, aromatic bitters are the best place to start.

Citrus and Orange Bitters

Citrus-forward bitters typically focus on highlighting the peel, zest, and bright aromatic oils of the corresponding citrus flavour. They are commonly used to lift lighter drinks, enhance citrus notes, and add definition to spritzes, highballs, and aperitif-style cocktails. Orange bitters are especially useful in low- and no-alcohol drinks where freshness and aroma matter as much as the accent of bitterness.

Specialty Cocktail-Inspired Bitters

Some bitters are designed around specific classic cocktails rather than serving as all-purpose seasoning or highlighting a specific single flavour. A familiar example is Peychaud’s-style bitters, closely associated with New Orleans cocktails like the Sazerac and known for a distinct, recognizable profile.

These cocktail-inspired bitters are used to anchor a drink to a specific style, adding a recognizable identity and structure with just a few drops or dashes. In non-alcoholic cocktails, they help faithfully recreate classic builds, preserving character without relying on alcohol.

Specialty Single-Botanical Bitters

Specialty single-botanical bitters are built around one predominant spice, herb, or botanical rather than a broad blend. While in practice they do in fact contain more than a single botanical in their formulation, these bitters are designed to highlight a specific, focused flavour note, adding clarity, warmth, or aromatic lift to a drink with just a dash or two.

In mocktails and zero-proof cocktails, single-botanical bitters are best used intentionally. They add contrast and character to a recipe without overwhelming the drink's balance.

Yes. Non-alcoholic aromatic bitters can be used anywhere a recipe calls for aromatic bitters, and non-alcoholic orange bitters can be used anywhere a recipe calls for orange bitters. They are designed to perform the same functional role in classic cocktails and alcohol-free drinks, and can often be swapped into recipes 1:1.

Yes. If you are abstaining from alcohol consumption during events like Dry January, non-alcoholic bitters are safe to use because they are designed to add flavour, aroma, and bitterness without adding alcohol. Bark & Bitter bitters are made to deliver the functional role of traditional cocktail bitters while remaining fully zero-proof, making them suitable for alcohol-free cocktails and mocktails throughout Dry January and beyond.

Read the complete Dry January guide here.

Yes. Bark & Bitter’s Honestly Aromatic Bitters was named Best Cocktail Ingredient at the 2024 World Alcohol-Free Awards, an international competition focused on alcohol-free spirits, cocktails, and ingredients. Other Bark & Bitter bitters have also received awards and recognition across international alcohol-free spirits and cocktail competitions.