Bitters By Miracle Mile Bitters Co. And Louis Anderman

Never underestimate the cocktail hobbyist.

Eighteen months ago, Louis Anderman was a Hollywood studio executive with a knack for brewing bitters and nocino in his kitchen. On a whim, he left a sample of one such homespun invention with Joe Keeper, whose Los Angeles shop, Bar Keeper, is a hub for the city's cocktail-obsessed. When Anderman returned a few weeks later, the bottle was almost empty, and his hobby transitioned into a second career.

Anderman's Miracle Mile Bitters Co. produces flavors that are complex without being fussy: yuzu; sour cherry; orange; a wintry gingerbread; floral, caramel-y Castilian; and Forbidden Bitters, a rich and aromatic brew in the style of Angostura. He "makes bitters that make sense for mixologists," Keeper says.

Indeed, Miracle Mile has been featured in drinks at the Tar Pit, Harvard & Stone, Lexington Social House, La Descarga and more.

Now the rest of us can try what some of L.A.'s best bartenders have been buzzing about for months. Miracle Mile bitters are currently available for online ordering from K&L Wine Merchants in California and will soon be offered at The Meadow, a bitters emporium with branches in Portland and New York.

Try them in the Clockwork Orange (see the recipe), a spicy drink from 1886 in Los Angeles.