Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that's not addressed here, please feel free to contact us!

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Company Info

We make and distribute our products by hand in Chico, California. One of our founders is from Chico, and the other attempted a couple years of school at CSU Chico (it didn't go super well). After spending some amazing time in the Napa Valley working in fine dining and wine, we came back here to raise our family.

We sure do! Currently we self-distribute and offer wholesale pricing and free shipping to qualified on- and off-premise accounts. Please get in touch with us for inquiries.

We'll be straight with you. We're as small scale as they come—literally a mom and pop making bitters by hand in our commercial kitchen space, hand bottling, labeling, and shipping direct to you. We only make as much as we can physically produce ourselves, and we mean ourselves...we don't have any employees.

Todd Mead was our founder Carly's father, who dealt with substance abuse issues for most of his life and unfortunately never found recovery. In his honor, we donate at least 2% of annual sales directly to non-profits and programs focusing on substance abuse and recovery—both locally in our community of Chico CA, and nationally. Our goal is to help those in need find a better way of living.

We'd love to consider it! As part of our annual charitable giving we donate 1% of total sales to environmental organizations and 2% of total sales to substance abuse and recovery programs. If you would like to be considered for our donations, please don't hesitate to reach out via our contact form or directly at info@allthebitter.com.

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Product Info

Most cocktail bitters aid somewhat with digestion, which is why "bitters and soda" is often taken for a stomachache (or hangover). We took this idea and ran with it, incorporating herbs like dandelion, burdock, milk thistle seed, yellow dock, holy basil, and schisandra berry—ingredients you're more likely to find in an herbal supplement than in cocktail bitters. These powerhouses of herbal health add to the complex flavor of our bitters while providing benefits that go well beyond traditional cocktail bitters, such as liver cleansing and detoxification.

We also don't use any alcohol to make our bitters. Instead we use vegetable glycerin, which works similarly to alcohol in extracting flavor—and beneficial compounds—from botanicals. Glycerin is naturally sweet, so we balance that with a touch of apple cider vinegar and an impressive quantity of bitter roots, herbs, fruit, and spices, which brings us to another difference: All The Bitter contains 2-3x more raw botanicals than most other bitters. It's how we're able to pack so much flavor into our bitters without relying on alcohol.

Bitters tend to fall into two categories: cocktail or digestive (not counting bitter liqueurs like Campari or Fernet that are in a whole different category). Cocktail bitters are, of course, intended to flavor beverages and are formulated with taste in mind. Digestive bitters are a type of herbal supplement and are taken to stimulate digestion and detoxification, but they generally don't taste very good.

Who says you can't have both at the same time? Tasting like classic cocktail bitters but acting like digestive bitters, All The Bitter is your standard overachiever—made with both flavor and function taken into equal consideration. Check out our benefits page for detailed information about the ingredients we use, and learn how ATB might fit into your wellness routine.

Yes! Our bitters don't see a drop of alcohol, not ever. We use sustainably sourced non-GMO glycerin—a syrupy liquid derived from vegetable oil—to extract flavor from our carefully selected raw organic botanicals.

We don't add any flavor extracts, either, which are almost always made with alcohol (think vanilla extract, for example). In fact we add nothing to our bitters besides raw herbs, roots, spices, flowers, fruits, and a splash of apple cider vinegar for balance.

100% of what's in our bottle is 0.0% alcohol, always.

As with any herbal product we recommend you check with your doctor before incorporating All The Bitter into your pregnancy or breastfeeding routine. That said, however, we use only the highest quality organic ingredients that have all been Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

We think so, but that's entirely up to you. Recovery is a very personal process, and everyone has their own triggers. Some people consider non-alcoholic cocktails a "slippery slope" while many others have successfully incorporated them into their own program of recovery, and indeed help keep them sober.

If non-alcoholic cocktails aren't in your plan, All The Bitter can be used to flavor sparkling water, tea, juice, or coffee. Our bitters are a great way to fancy up an everyday drink while benefiting from their digestive support, liver cleansing, and detox functions.

Some folks aren't concerned with the minimal amount of alcohol that "traditional" bitters add to an otherwise non-alcoholic cocktail, but our product is safe for those sensitive to any percentage of alcohol at all—whether for health reasons, religion, pregnancy, recovery from addiction, allergy—and are just as delicious (if not more!).

There's a great article on bitters and non-alc cocktails over at Alcademics. Here's the TLDR: for a drink with bitters to fall within the legal definition of non-alcoholic (less than 0.5% alcohol), it must contain at least 5oz of liquid and no more than 2 dashes of bitters (1.5ml). Any less than 5oz liquid, or more than 2 dashes, and you're over the legal limit for calling something "non-alcoholic". That means a non-alcoholic Old Fashioned, made with 3 dashes of bitters and less than 3oz of liquid, clocks in well over 1% ABV. Factor in the <0.5% ABV in some non-alcoholic spirits and that's enough math to make our heads hurt!

The straightforward, worry-free option is to use an alcohol-free bitters like All The Bitter.

No way! Our bitters are shelf stable, although they should be kept in a cool, dark place to retain freshness.

For maximum flavor and freshness we recommend enjoying All The Bitter within 24 months of the date of manufacture. For convenience, a "best by" date is printed on the bottom of every bottle.

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Recipes and Usage

Yes, absolutely! While our bitters are unique and have a beautiful flavor profile that's all their own, they were inspired by the classics that are found behind every bar and are called for in 99% of cocktail recipes.

Our Aromatic Bitters can be used wherever Angostura (or any other variety of "aromatic bitter") is called for. These are the most classic expression of cocktail bitters...when in doubt, throw a few dashes of Aromatic into your drink.

All The Bitter New Orleans Bitters are inspired by, you guessed it, New Orleans style bitters...specifically the recipe of a 19th century apothecary named Antoine Peychaud. If a recipe calls for Peychaud's, these will work great in its place.

And our Orange Bitters, well, they should of course be used in recipes that call for orange bitters. Some orange (or citrus) bitters are entirely fruit forward, while others are balanced between fruit and spice—ours fall into that second category with notes of cardamom, coriander, and lemon balm adding complexity to the citrusy orange peel.

When using our bottles with a dropper top, wherever a recipe specifies "1 dash", use around 1 mL, or a full dropper (whatever amount is sucked up when you squeeze the bulb once). Technical measurements vary depending on who you ask, but a dash is around 0.8 mL. Our droppers are marked with incremental mL measurements for your convenience. Bonus: it makes you feel like a scientist or doctor when mixing up drinks.

If you're using a bottle with a dasher cap, invert the bottle over your drink and give the bottle a good hard shake, straight down. Each shake is 1 dash. Check out this video for a good example of how to properly "dash" bottles.

This, my friend, is entirely up to you and your taste buds. Cocktail recipes generally call for 2-3 dashes (somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 mL). Our suggested serving size is 1/2 teaspoon (around 2.5 mL), but you may want to add more to sparkling water or beer if you prefer a more intense flavor. Personally, we add anywhere from 3-5 dropperfuls of bitters to a 12 ounce glass of sparkling water or beer, depending on how spicy we're feeling.

We'd love to! Check out our recipes section for tons of delicious non-alcoholic cocktails. If you're not finding what you're looking for, please don't hesitate to reach out to us! We enjoy chatting about drinks and love the challenge of "zero proofing" alcoholic cocktails. What's your favorite drink? Let us know and we'll create the perfect non-alcoholic (or low-alcohol) version just for you.

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Ingredient Info

With the exception of our limited release Black Walnut Bitters, our products contain none of the major allergens as identified by the FDA: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybean. We make our bitters in a shared commercial kitchen space that does process these ingredients, but we take every precaution to prevent cross-contamination.

Our products are all 100% vegan, and unless you count our toddler (who loves his "fancy water"), they're never tested on animals.

Our products are all 100% gluten-free. We make our bitters in a shared commercial kitchen space where wheat products are used, but we take every precaution to prevent any cross-contamination.

Our bitters are almost entirely organic. With the exception of vegetable glycerin, 100% of our ingredients are either organic or wild foraged (due to the nature of wild foraged ingredients, they cannot be labeled organic).

We're not super into labels (just be yourself), so we have not certified our products as non-GMO. That said, however, we strive to use entirely non-GMO, sustainable, and ethically sourced ingredients.

Jeez, you sure do have a lot of questions! Yes, they're pretty bangin' :)

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Shipping & Returns

We ship nationwide to all 50 United States. We do not offer international shipping at the moment but may be available through retailer partners in other countries such as Canada. Please get in touch with us to inquire about availability near you.

Orders of $59 or more ship for free! All other orders are shipped for a low flat rate of $5.

Once an order is placed, it is processed and typically ships out within 24-48 hours. Orders placed after 4 PM PST on Friday are shipped the following Monday.

Flat rate and free shipping are handled either by UPS Ground or USPS Ground Advantage and generally spend 2-5 days in transit depending on your location. Other shipping options may be available at checkout.

We hand pack and handle every box with care and trust that our shipping partners do the same, but we understand that sometimes things go wrong. If your order arrived damaged, or has taken longer than 10 days to arrive, please get in touch with us through our contact page or direct via info@allthebitter.com and we'll make it right.

If you're not satisfied with your purchase, for whatever reason, please let us know within 30 days of receiving your order. Our goal is 100% satisfaction! We'd love to hear what's going on. If we're really just not the right fit for your palate we'll be happy to refund your purchase in full, within the first 30 days of purchase.