Featured in our series of founder interviews is The Bitter Truth’s Stephan Berg & Alexander Hauck.

How did The Bitter Truth get started?

Two bartenders unable to get the products they wanted, deciding to produce themself and helping out fellow bartenders with the same issue. Slowly, but steady building credibility with cocktail enthusiasts and constantly innovating. It started very small scale and has grown far beyond expectations.

Tell us something that might surprise people about your product(s).

They are from Germany!

What are some difficulties you have faced as an independent producer, and how do you work to overcome them?

A main issue was financing, as banks usually don`t support the small companies doing the unusal crazy stuff. But good planning and constant savings and reinvesting of all profits kept us in the flow.

What’s your go-to, or current favorite, cocktail recipe at home?

A crispy cold Dry Martini (stirred!), made with good dry english style gin, some dry french vermouth in ratio 5:1 and a few dashes of our very own orange bitters, finished with some fresh lemon peel. A true delight.

Share your personal favorite recent ways to use your products?

We put bitters in literally everything. Starting with the morning coffee (aromatic or chocolate bitters)...we flavor salads, and dishes (celery, cucumber or olive bitters) and of course in cocktails in the evening. Bitters are so versatile, that the use goes beyond classic expectations with mind blowing results.

Most memorable cocktail bar - can be anywhere in the world!

We`d say Bar "4 Play" in Taipeh/Taiwans, where bartender Alan Cheng just blew our minds years ago with incredible creativity, stunning drinks presentations, sense of humor and entertainment, all embedded with a most welcoming attitude.