Peychaud's Bitters substitute

Best substitute

Creole-style bitters

Use the same amount dash for dash as the peychaud's bitters you are replacing

Best for Sazeracs

Close match

In a cocktail, bitters are seasoning: a few dashes add aromatic bitterness that lifts everything else, the way salt does in cooking. The important thing to know is that Peychaud bitters and Angostura are not interchangeable, even though people swap them constantly. Angostura is clove, cinnamon and baking spice; Peychaud's is anise, cherry and flowers, lighter and slightly sweeter. If Angostura is what you have, use about three quarters as many dashes because it is more assertive, and add one drop of absinthe or pastis to bring back the anise. Better still, mix Angostura and orange bitters 1:1, which lands closer. A commercial Creole-style bitters is the nearest thing on a shelf. For a Sazerac specifically, expect the drink to taste spicier and less floral with any of these.

Other peychaud's bitters substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Angostura bitters plus a drop of absinthe or pastis
Different taste
3 dashes Angostura plus 1 drop absinthe in place of 4 dashes Peychaud's
The practical answer for almost everyone, since Angostura is the one bottle most home bars own.
What changes
The absinthe supplies the anise note that Angostura completely lacks.
Best for
Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds, whiskey and cognac cocktails, when Angostura is the only bitters in the house
Distinctly spicier, with clove and cinnamon coming forward and a heavier, more medicinal bitterness, so the drink tastes warmer and darker rather than bright and floral. Angostura is genuinely stronger, which is why you use fewer dashes; matching dash for dash makes the drink taste of Christmas cake. Note that a Sazerac already has an absinthe rinse, so this pushes the anise up rather than adding it from nothing.
3Angostura and orange bitters, mixed
Different taste
Equal parts, used dash for dash at three quarters the total
A better approximation than Angostura alone, because orange bitters brings a lighter, brighter citrus and floral quality that pulls the mixture towards Peychaud's territory.
What changes
Best for
Sazeracs, Manhattans and Vieux Carre, brandy drinks, when you own two bottles but not the right one
Lighter and more fragrant than Angostura on its own, and closer to the mark, though the flavour reads as orange peel rather than cherry and anise. If you have both, this is worth the extra ten seconds. Adding a single drop of absinthe on top of this mixture gets you closer to Peychaud's than any other combination of common bottles.
4Orange bitters alone
Different taste
Use the same amount dash for dash
Lighter and less spicy than Angostura, which makes it a nearer match in weight even though the flavour is citrus rather than anise.
What changes
Best for
gin and vodka cocktails, lighter aperitif drinks, drinks where you do not want added spice
The bitterness sits in the right place and the drink stays bright rather than turning heavy, but you lose the anise and cherry entirely, so a Sazerac tastes clean and citrusy and no longer tastes like a Sazerac. Best where the bitters is a supporting player rather than the signature, and a good choice in anything already built around citrus.
5Anise liqueur plus a bar spoon of cherry syrup (the improvised version)
Different taste
¼ tsp anise liqueur plus ¼ tsp maraschino or cherry syrup in place of 4 dashes
An honest improvisation for when you own no bitters at all.
What changes
It reproduces the two most identifiable aroma notes, though it cannot reproduce the bitterness, which comes from gentian root.
Best for
when there is genuinely no bitters in the house, Sazerac-style drinks, one-off experiments
Sweeter and softer than any real bitters, with the anise and cherry present but the drying bitter backbone missing, so the drink tastes rounder and less structured and needs slightly less sugar to compensate. Add a very small pinch of salt, which suppresses sweetness and imitates a little of what the bitterness was doing. This is a workaround, not a substitute.
6Any aromatic bitters, honestly accepted (the least-bad option)
Different taste
Start at half the dashes, taste, add more
Worth saying plainly: there is no perfect substitute for Peychaud's, because its particular combination of anise, cherry, floral notes and gentian is not replicated by anything else in a supermarket.
What changes
Every option here is an approximation.
Best for
getting a decent drink made tonight, cocktails with several strong flavours, learning what bitters actually do
Whatever aromatic bitters you have will make the drink better than no bitters at all, since the drink needs the bitter counterweight more than it needs one specific flavour. Start with half the dashes the recipe asks for and build up, because bitters brands differ enormously in strength and it is far easier to add than to fix an over-bittered drink.

What is Peychaud's Bitters?

Peychaud's Bitters is Peychaud's bitters is a bright red New Orleans aromatic bitters, the original Creole bitters, whose flavour runs to anise, cherry and gentian rather than the baking spice of other aromatic bitters, and it is the defining ingredient of a Sazerac.

Cooking tips

Bitters are seasoning, and dashes are not a precise measure. A dash from a dasher-top bottle is roughly an eighth of a teaspoon, but bottle designs vary wildly, so measure with a quarter-teaspoon spoon once to see how many of your dashes fill it. That is the only way to substitute between brands with any accuracy.
Add bitters to the glass before the spirit and stir well. They are a tiny volume trying to season several ounces of liquid, so building them in first and stirring for a full twenty seconds distributes them properly. Floated on top at the end, they read as a harsh note rather than as integrated seasoning.
Peychaud's is unusually bright red because of added colouring, so a Sazerac made with it has a characteristic pinkish blush. Every substitute here will give you a paler or browner drink. That is cosmetic only, but it is worth knowing before you assume you have done something wrong.
A Sazerac is rye or cognac, sugar, bitters and an absinthe rinse. If you replace Peychaud's with Angostura plus a drop of absinthe, you are adding anise on top of the rinse, so use a lighter hand with the rinse itself or the anise takes over the drink entirely.
Bitters keep effectively forever because of their high alcohol content, so a bottle of Peychaud's is a very cheap fix for a recurring problem. If you make Sazeracs, Vieux Carres or Cocktails a la Louisiane more than once a year, buy the bottle rather than working around it every time.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use Angostura instead of Peychaud's?

You can, and the drink will still be good, but it will not taste the same and it is worth knowing why. Angostura is built on clove, cinnamon and baking spice; Peychaud's is anise, cherry and flowers, lighter on the palate and slightly sweeter. Use about three quarters as many dashes of Angostura because it is more assertive, and add a single drop of absinthe or pastis to fill in the anise gap.

Can I just leave the bitters out?

In a Sazerac, no, because bitters is one of only four ingredients and it is the one providing all the aromatic complexity. Without it you have sweetened rye with an absinthe rinse, which is drinkable but dull. In a longer drink with fruit juice or several liqueurs you can omit bitters and lose less, though the drink will taste flatter and slightly too sweet. Salt is a surprisingly useful stand-in for that missing edge: a tiny pinch sharpens a flat cocktail.

Is Peychaud's the same as Creole bitters?

Peychaud's is the original Creole bitters, created in nineteenth-century New Orleans, and anything sold today as Creole bitters is aiming at the same profile. So a Creole bitters from another producer is the closest substitute you can buy, and recipes calling for Creole bitters and Peychaud bitters mean the same thing in practice. They will differ slightly in intensity and colour.

How many dashes are in a typical recipe, and how do I scale a substitute?

A Sazerac usually takes three or four dashes of Peychaud's. Since Angostura is stronger, drop to two or three dashes. Since orange bitters is milder, match dash for dash. Whatever you use, make one drink, taste it, and adjust the next one; a cocktail with too much bitters tastes harsh and medicinal and cannot be rescued by adding more of anything else.

Are bitters alcoholic, and does that matter for a substitute?

Yes, most aromatic bitters are around 35 to 45 percent alcohol, but a few dashes amount to a fraction of a millilitre, so the contribution to a drink's strength is negligible. It does matter if you are making a genuinely alcohol-free drink, in which case look for a non-alcoholic bitters, or use a strong brewed infusion of something bitter such as chicory, gentian root or a splash of very strong black tea for the tannic edge.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Peychaud's Bitters substitute

Other peychaud's bitters substitutes

2Angostura bitters plus a drop of absinthe or pastis

3Angostura and orange bitters, mixed

4Orange bitters alone

5Anise liqueur plus a bar spoon of cherry syrup (the improvised version)

6Any aromatic bitters, honestly accepted (the least-bad option)