At last year's Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, Monrovia-based spirits company Greenbar Collective, formerly known as Modern Spirits, invited numerous bartenders to submit their own bitters formula to a panel of judges (which included the spirits company's owners, husband and wife team Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew). The competition was conducted in three categories — fruit, herb, spice — with the fifteen entries ranging from a “Golden Era” rendition to a smoked ginger version. The winning formulas, a baked apple, Swedish herb and lavender spice bitters (get the full placing results after the jump), were released this month by Greenbar, with the winning bartender sharing in the profits.

You can taste through the new line at Barkeeper in Silverlake, which currently is offering free samples.

FRUIT

Winner — Baked Big Apple bitters (Marshall Atlier)

Second — Grapefruit bitters (Blair Reynolds)

Third — Golden Era bitters (Kathy Casey)

HERB

Winner — Swedish bitters (Adam Seger)

Second — Pachamama bitters (Ron Oliver)

Third — Backhouse bitters (Ron Oliver)

SPICE

Winner — English Lavender & Spice bitters (Tobin Ellis & John Hogan)

Second — Anise bitters (Alex Smith)

Third — Smoked Ginger bitters (George A. Costa)

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