I'm Dave. I'm not a bartender or a herbalist, and I'm not going to pretend to be an expert either. I'm just someone who's gotten more mindful about what goes in my body over the years. It started with food: looking for healthier versions of my favorite dishes and treats. From there it spread to what I put on my body, and what I clean my home with. Most of my cabinet is clean brands now, and I'll usually check something against EWG's database before I buy it. I try to keep the household stuff non-toxic where I can, which is better for me and for the environment.
Most of it starts with the label. I read every one: the bag of chips, the shampoo bottle, the bottle of dish soap. Bitters came later. The first bottle I picked up was full of herbs I'd never heard of, and I wanted to know what they actually were. At some point reading labels turned into remaking things, and bitters turned out to be one of the most fun things I've made instead of bought.
Bitters sit right where my two favorite things overlap: cocktails and natural products. On one side, they're the seasoning of a cocktail: a couple of dashes, and a drink goes from fine to finished. On the other, they're a jar of herbs steeped in alcohol, with a long history of being used for more than flavor. I like both sides. This whole site is both sides.
How this started
At a work event a few years back, there were a few activities to choose from, and I went with a bitters-making class. It turned out to be unexpectedly fun and informative. It covered the history, how to actually make bitters, the different ways people use them, and a rundown of the herbs: where they come from and what they've traditionally been used for. The blend I made that day leaned calming and restorative, a sleep-leaning kind of mix. Something about it stuck with me.
It stuck around long enough that a few years later, in an engineering program, I had to give a presentation on something non-technical. This is what I talked about. People were into it. Someone even suggested it'd make a good project for the app we had to build. So I started building it. The original idea was simple. A tool where you could put herbs together and see what you'd get: the flavors, the traditional uses, the categories each one falls into. Years later, with more time and a lot more knowledge, that idea grew into this: the site you're on, and a flavor tool that's still in the works.
What you'll find here
The plan is pretty straightforward. The cocktail side, for anyone who just wants their drinks to taste better. The bitters side, for anyone who wants to make their own instead of paying for a tiny bottle. And the herb side, for the people like me who want to know what's actually in that jar and why.
I'm figuring plenty of it out as I go, and I'll tell you when I do. I'm not here to sell you on my credentials, because I don't really have the kind that fit on a card. I'm just someone who makes his own, cares what's in the bottle, and writes down what he learns so you don't have to start from scratch.