Digging a bitter’s bottle for what ever reason is the utmost prize for a bottle diggers. Like most diggers my first dug bitter’s was a Dr. J. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitter’s, what a trill that was. The past thirty-five years of this back breaking hobby that we all are addicted to. I have recovered many types of bitter bottles, and the one thing that everyone always asks, just what is a bitters?
Bitters date back to the early 1700’s and originated in England and started out as a medicine made from a multitude of herbs, bark and roots, that gave it a bitter taste. In the early 1800s ale, brandy or whiskey was added to the bitters giving it a much more pleasant and desirable taste but still retains some of its so called medicinal value. In some of the early 1860’s advertisements the bitters were purported to having amazing curative powers, they clamed that virtually any disease or failing body organ could be cured by these amazing ingreedeance. In reality, due to the high alcohol contents {120 proof} drank by the thirsty customers they most likely experienced a temporary feeling of relief from the sprits rather than from the medicine itself. One of the biggest advantages of being classified as a medicine was that the colonists could import from England the so called bitters to America. where it became a very popular drink and not having to pay the high import liquor tax.
In the mid-1800,s the temperance movement gained strength in America, a social stigma was attached to those who imbibed in the “spirits” the use of bitters became increasingly more popular about this time. No one seemed to question the use of bitters, and was accepted as a moral drink. Here in the west at most of the fort sites and military out post the ground is littered every where with the busted glass bottles. By the amount of all the bitter's dug at fort sites, I think you could say it was highly accepted by the military and that bitters could be consumed with in the fort boundary’s were ale and whiskey where banned. In 1862 the internal revenue act further enhanced the production and use of bitters, because as a medicine it was exempt from US Goverment liquor tax.
Between 1860 and 1904 there were more than a 1000+ American companies that had their own recipes for this popular drink. the bottle’s came in hundreds of shapes, sizes and colors here are a few of my favorite bitter's that I have in my collection.
Bottle on the left is a "Kelly’ old cabin Bitter’s patented 1863", this bottle was dig in a pit at a fort site in New Mexico, Kit Carson might have drank from this bottle. This is a choice bottle, the colors vary from amber to a rare lime green. The bottle on the right was dug out of a trash pit, at the Famous Fort Sedgwick on the Oregon trail in eastern Colorado. The embossing reads "American life Bitter’s Tiffin Ohio",all so can be found with the Omaha Nebraska embossing.
This cabin bottle was the most popular bottle in all the western forts. "1860 Drake’ plantation Bitter’s", the colors of these Drake’s very from A common amber to a rare dark green.
Here is a close up of the Drake’s bottle label has a nice picture of a plantation.
A nice "red Jacket Bitter’s" made in Chicago. I dug this bottle out of a 1860s trash pit in Denver, but this bottle is also found in a lot of fort sites.
Here is a neat New York City find, "Wheeler’s genuine bitters". This bottle was dug out of a 1850s ten foot deep rock lined privy, in a combined effort of Andy G, Mike Colorado, and my self.
***** What's a Bitter's? *****
