Angostura

---

Angostura aromatic bitters was developed in 1824 by Dr. Siegert, who was living in the town of Angostura on the northern coast of Venezuela at the time. Originally it was used medicinally as a digestion aid, however over time it has gained popularity in soft drinks, cocktails, and other alcoholic drinks as well as a staple in Caribbean cooking. It has now gained world-wide notoriety and can be found in just about any bar or pub, actually I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of you have a bottle of bitters laying about as well.

But what I find most fascinating about Angostura bitters is that the recipe has been kept a secret for over 150 years. Only 5 people on the world know how to make Angostura bitters and the special combination of herbs and spices that give this bitters a unique flavor. In the early 1900's the Siegert family moved to Trinidad due to political unrest in Venezuela, and the family took their secret recipe for Angostura aromatic bitters with them. Since then, every single bottle of Angostura bitters has been produced here in Trinidad at the Angostura Factory, in a secret room tucked away in a corner of this giant factory.

Currently Angostura not only produces bitters, but also Oak Rum. In fact it is the largest rum factory in the Caribbean and produces pure white rum for many other islands as well (who later blend and age and bottle their own rum). So we decided to take a tour and had a fascinating time riding around the premises of this giant factory aboard the golf cart limo. We got to see the distillery and watch as a molasses truck delivered thousands of gallons of sweet, gooey molasses into the still- very cool! And we got to watch the bottling plant in full swing, making hundreds of bottles of rum an hour- holy cow! After our tour of the factory, we also got to visit the museum which depicts the history of Dr. Siegert and his family as well as the story of Angostura aromatic bitters- very fascinating! But the highlight of our tour was a sneak peak of the room where they make Angostura bitters. Of course the secret recipe of blended herbs and spices was kept a secret and we weren't even allowed to take any photographs of this area. Everything is kept behind a locked door and under strict surveillance. Must be tough to keep such a big secret for so many years. And after all the tours, we were ready for a drink. So it was off to the tasting room where we got to try Oak rum and many Angostura blended drinks. It was a perfect end to a wonderful tour.

---

Photos

Angostura
Angostura Bitters Factory, where they make more than Bitters and Rum. One of the biggest distilleries in the Caribbean.

Molases
The molases truck dumping thousands of gallons of molases into the distilery- which will eventually become rum!

All Aboard
Love the golf cart limo that took us around the Angostura Distillery- now that's how we roll!

Museum
A quick tour of the Angostura museum, which depicts how bitters was formulated.

Jay Sneaks a Peak
Behind this door is the room where Angostura Bitters is made- a top secret recipe that only 5 people in the whole world know. Can you keep a secret???

Bar
The best part of the tour was a stop at the bar, where we got to try Angostura Bitters and Royal Oak Rum.

Comments

[holidayrental.com]

Angostura Attractions
this place is really beautiful and lot of our customers are not aware of this place but when some one visits there on recommendation, they really like it.