Pomlo Bitters

Proprietary concentrated rum-based (according to tax records) digestif bitters produced in New York and advertised in the early years of the 20th Century. “Drink a ‘Pony’ of ‘Pomlo’ before or after meals.” Pending further information, this product is presumed to have been a commercial example of pomelo bitters. Pomelo bitters seems to have been a minor fad in the early years of the 20th Century (circa 1904-1906). From the New York Athletic Journal, “A ‘new one’ on most people in America, but well known to those whose travels have carried them into Chnia, is the ‘Pomelo’ fruit, which in its native country is used extensively for its medicinal qualities, and in America is now offered to the public in the form of ‘Pomelo Bitters’—a scientific prepared extract which is highly recommended to all who suffer with any disorder of the stomach—indigestion, dyspepsia, or loss of appetite.” (May 1905, p. 30) The same page contains a 1/8 ad for Pomlo Bitters. If these bitters tasted like pomelo, they would have had a grapefruit character. However, they were evidently formulated not for consumption in dashes, but in Underberg-like doses.