Master bartender Dale DeGroff presented a cocktail primer on bitters during our Alaskan cruise. Credit: Jon Palmer Claridge

Editor's note: CL food critic Jon Palmer Claridge is in Alaska doing "research." This is part of an ongoing series sharing his culinary adventures.

I must say when I signed on for an Alaskan cruise, I never imagined I'd spend an hour during my first day at sea dabbing aromatic bitters in my palm, cupping my hands to capture the aromas, poking my nose between my index fingers and taking a whiff. But that's exactly what expert bartender Dale DeGroff has us do.

We're in the culinary center on the Lower Promenade of the SS Noordam for a cocktail primer focused on how bitters tweak the perfect Manhattan. Before me on the table are five glasses of DeGroff's favorite recipe (identical and premixed) awaiting a few drops of bitters from tiny containers aligned with each stem.

He presents a charming master class on the rise of the cocktail — a post industrial revolution beverage that, with the advent of reliable sources of ice, enables regular folks to carry around an individual drink — thus sounding a death knell for the 19th century's previously ubiquitous punch bowls.

Mr. Cocktail knows his stuff. DeGroff spent 30 prestigious years concocting drinks for New York's finest in the Rainbow Room at the top of Rockefeller Center. There, his bar menu celebrated the cocktails of legendary supper clubs from the golden age of jazz. He loves the syncopated, improvised sounds of what he calls "persecuted American chamber music," and from this, he drew inspiration for invention behind the bar.

So what are the results of this great adventure with aromatic bitters? Here are my tasting notes:

#1 Angostura: Christmas on the nose. Clove on the palate. Bitter on the finish. Universally available and beloved. Still a winner in my book.

#2 Abbott's: Surprising vanilla icing nose. Very bitter on the palate. Pepper finish. Much drier.

#3 The Bitter Truth: Dark color. Licorice nose and palate. Dry.

#4 Dale DeGroff's Pimento: Allspice and green fennel. DeGroff uses on oysters Rockefeller.

#5 Fee Brothers Whisky Barrel-Aged: Nose of Red Hots candy, cinnamon oil. Good in tiki rum drinks. Not good for a Manhattan. Sweet instead of dry.

Here's one experiment to try at home: DeGroff claims there are hundreds of bitters on the market, so wash your hands, dab your palm, prepare your nose and have a field day.

This article appears in Aug 4-11, 2016.

Jon Palmer Claridge—Tampa Bay's longest running, and perhaps last anonymous, food critic—has spent his life following two enduring passions, theatre and fine dining. He trained as a theatre professional...