A bar without Angostura bitters is a bleak concept.

Drops of the storied Trinidadian elixir are key to numerous classic cocktails, and bartenders are rarely caught without the stuff.
But Seattle cocktail guru Jamie Boudreau is taking his love of the bitters to a whole new level at his soon-to-open bar, Canon.

Angostura appears twofold. It's on the expansive whiskey-focused menu, and on the bar itself--literally. Boudreau used the inky liquid to stain the wooden bar and each of the tables in the 48-seat spot, giving them a lustrous reddish-brown hue.

The job required three cases of oversize bottles, the contents of which he reduced to enhance the staining potency before applying the mixture to the bar's birch and mahogany surface.

While we don't expect to see Angostura on the shelves of Home Depot any time soon, Boudreau's utilization of the bitters for design purposes assures us that the shortage of 2009 is a distant memory.

There's never been a better time to pull your supply from the shelf and experiment--if not on your furniture, then at least in your glass, with Boudreau's recipe for a classic Old-Fashioned.

Old-Fashioned
Recipe adapted from Jamie Boudreau
Makes one drink

1 sugar cube
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Dash club soda
2 ounces rye whiskey (or quality dry bourbon)
Ice

In a chilled mixing glass, add the sugar cube, bitters and soda. Crush the cube with a muddler until dissolved. Add the rye and stir, then add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled rocks glass and serve.