Fee Brothers Catalog

FAMILY-OWNED SINCE 1864

Founded in 1864, Fee Brothers provides an expansive variety of classic and bespoke bitters, botanical waters, brines, cordial syrups, mixes, and other bar basics used by discerning individuals around the world. Our longstanding quality and wide portfolio of products have helped the Fee Brothers name remain a trustworthy presence behind any bar. While we keep our family recipes close to the chest, please craft yourself a cocktail, pull up a barstool, and allow us to share our story, which spans three centuries and five generations.

IT STARTED ON A COLD DAY IN 1864…

Owen Fee and his wife, Margaret, traveled down the St. Lawrence River by steamboat in 1835 after immigrating to Canada from Ireland’s County Monaghan. They eventually settled in Rochester, New York, and grew their family with five children: James, Mary Jane, Owen Jr., John, and Joseph.

On March 5, 1864, the Fee Brothers began their business making, importing, and selling wine and liquor. This business model continued until the years of prohibition, when the business was then owned by John C. Fee II.

January 1920 marked the beginning of Prohibition during which Fee Brothers found an opening in the market: As amateurs made not-so-great homemade alcohol behind closed doors, Fee Brothers produced and sold nonalcoholic flavorings like Benedictine, Chartreuse, Brandy, Rum, and flavored cordial syrups to make these illicit concoctions more palatable.

This was the origination of the cordial syrups still sold today, and the beginning of the inventive spirit behind Fee Brother’s vast product line.

CRACKING THE COCKTAIL CODE

When John C. Fee II passed suddenly in 1951, the family discovered that he had written most of the Fee Brothers’ recipes in an indecipherable code. His son, John C. Fee III (aka Jack), a chemist by trade, spent two years redeveloping the elusive recipes. Once he cracked the codes, he continued on a never-ending quest to develop new products.

Jack’s oldest, John C Fee IV, traveled the eastern United States, promoting Fee Brothers and driving sales of Orgeat and Passion Fruit syrups. Jack and John also developed a special non-alcoholic Curacao/Triple Sec syrup to help bartenders work around a unique law in the Carolinas.

The Tenacious Inventor

In May 1979, Jack’s daughter, Ellen Fee came to work at Fee Brothers permanently, eventually becoming Production Manager and co-owner. At this point, Jack had developed 54 products, and Ellen took up the quest to develop more. During her years as a manager of Operations and R&D, Ellen created 67 new products.

The Charismatic Globe Trotter

Her brother, Joe Fee, made thousands of connections around the world initiating new distributorships and attending cocktail conventions, often recognized by many as the very tall guy wearing an Australian leather hat. Over the years as co-owner, he brought Fee’s bookkeeping and production lines a generation ahead, positioning Fee Brothers as a global leader in the cocktail industry. Because of Joe’s big personality in the cocktail community you can find Fee Brother’s behind bars in even the most remote corners of the world.

TODAY: THE FIFTH GENERATION

Today, Fee Brothers is run by the fifth generation: brothers Benn Fee Spacher and Jon Spacher, Jack’s Grandsons.

As COO, Benn focuses on the busy production team. As a teenager, he had spent most of his summers working in the Fee Brothers production department, and was trained in the art of batch-making under the watchful eye of his aunt, Ellen Fee.

As CEO, Jon has a knack for business and sales. Don’t let his history as regional president for a national insurance company fool you – he has great enthusiasm for the cocktail industry.

Benn and Jon know they have a long legacy to uphold. What’s in store for the future of Fee Brothers? Nothing new: just consistent quality, great customer service, and non-stop innovation

Benjamin Fee Spacher

Jonathan F. Spacher

WORLDWIDE ACCLAIM

For many years, Fee Brothers was one of the few producers of cocktail bitters in the United States. Once referred to as “The Noah’s Arc of Bitters,” they’ve kept those products from going extinct before the great classic cocktail revival. Fee Brothers products have been shipped to every continent except Antarctica, which as of this writing, is lacking a known restaurant or bar.

A VAST PORTFOLIO

Pull up a stool and ready your palette: Fee Brothers has arguably the widest range of cocktail mixes out there.

You’ll find our portfolio is gluten-free, and almost all products are vegan and certified Kosher.

V Vegan

GF Gluten-Free Kosher

FEE BROTHERS BITTERS: HAND-WRAPPED EXCELLENCE

There’s a reason you’ll see Fee Brothers Bitters behind almost every bar. Actually there are two: consistency and variety.

We started making our orange bitters in the 1920s and they’ve been a staple product of ours ever since. When bartenders use Fees to add complexity to a cocktail, they can expect the same quality and flavoring every time. We hand wrap every single bottle of bitters, keeping the flavors safe from the sun and protected against time.

UNPARALLELED VARIETY

While other brands offer just a few flavors, Fee Brothers Bitters has hands down, the widest range of flavors. Bartenders love the endless possibilities of our portfolio of bitters. Enhance with black walnut, intrigue with Aztec chocolate, or add a touch of tartness with cranberry.

20 Flavors

Aztec Chocolate

Black Walnut

Cardamom

Celery

Cherry

Cranberry

Grapefruit

Lemon

Mint

Molasses

Old Fashion

Aromatic

Peach

Plum

Rhubarb

Toasted Almond

West Indian Orange

Turkish Tobacco Bitters

Fee Brothers’ Turkish Tobacco Bitters brings a depth of flavor to your classic bourbon cocktail. Use a dash or two to add the rich flavor of sun-cured tobacco, with hints of coffee, clove, and nutmeg.

Limited Edition/Yearly Release:

Whiskey Barrel-Aged

Gin Barrel-Aged Orange

OUR FAMOUS FEE FOAM

Presentation is everything. But not every shaken drink presents a nice, foamy head that is such an important finishing touch. Our Fee Foam is your solution. By adding only a few dashes before shaking, your creations will have that finishing touch that is visually appealing and taste-neutral.

Working with eggs behind the bar is difficult: reduce mess, save time, and keep costs down with our egg-free, fan-favorite.

A dasher cap provides easy dispensing.

THE BEAUTY OF BOTANICAL WATERS

Botanical Waters are meant to tickle that all important olfactory sense, adding fresh fragrance and delicate flavor to any drink.

Our Botanical waters are an excellent way to add complexity without the sweetness of a liqueur. Each of our 6 flavors offers a unique, delicate yet potent aroma.

With no added alcohol, Fee Brothers Botanical Waters are a genius way to elevate non-alcoholic beverages, too. Try a rose water, lemon, and mint spritzer. Or a lavender lemonade!

BALANCE WITH BRINES

Olive Brine

Fee Brothers makes Olive Brine from the actual brine of green olives. It is filtered just enough to leave olive solids which provide that characteristic Dirty Martini cloud and the pleasant taste of a green olive.

Pickle Brine

Fee Brothers Pickle Brine is most commonly used as a Pickleback Shot to chase whiskey, but feel free to get creative with its acidic flavor with other popular cocktails such as the Bloody Mary.

CLASSIC COCKTAIL MIXES

Fee Brothers has sought to provide bartenders with the widest variety of shelflife stable, simple to use, best tasting cocktail mixes. When tasted side-by-side with other products, Fee Brothers’ wins great praise.

9 Flavors

Whiskey Sour

Old Fashioned

Holiday Nog

Red Sangria

Swee-Tart Powdered Sour Mix

Daiquiri

Margarita

Piña Colada

White Sangria

CORDIAL SYRUPS

Fee Brothers has an amazing array of cordial syrups with an impressive variety of uses. These flavors are used in cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, baking, cake frosting, salad dressings, sauces, and more uses are discovered each day. There is also a desirable use for cordials in coffee, tea, and cocoa. Change a Daiquiri into a Peach Daiquiri with the addition of Fee Brothers Peach Cordial Syrup. Flavor Margaritas, Piña Coladas, and Sours in the same way. This inexpensive ingredient will add variety to your drink menu with little additional cost.

EVERY FLAVOR IMAGINABLE

Amaretto

Banana

Blackberry

Blue Curacao

Blueberry

Butterscotch

Caramel

Cherry

Cinnamon

Coconut

Coffee

Crème de Cacao Chocolate

Crème de Cacao

White Chocolate

Crème de Menthe (Green)

Crème de Menthe (White)

Curacao / Triple Sec

English Toffee

Falernum

French Vanilla

Grape

Grenadine, American Beauty

Grenadine, Fee Jr.

Hazelnut

Irish Cream

Jamaican Rum

Kiwi

Lemon

Lime

Mango

Maraschino Cherry

Melon

Orange

Orgeat

Passion Fruit (Golden)

Passion Fruit (Red)

Peach

Pineapple

Pomegranate

Praline

Pumpkin Spice

Raspberry (Blue)

Raspberry (Red)

Sarsaparilla

Sloe Gin

Sour Apple

Strawberry

Warm Ginger

Watermelon

Winter Spice

COFFEE FLAVORINGS

This group of cordial syrups is particularly desirable for adding to coffee, tea, and cocoa, although they are also used in cocktails, desserts, and many other applications. In most cases, add 1 tablespoon (1 oz) more or less, to taste, to any beverage to add rich background flavor.

ENRICH YOUR CUP

17 FLAVORS

Amaretto

French Vanilla

Hazelnut

Irish Cream

Praline

Pumpkin Spice

Raspberry

Jamaican Rum

Crème De Cacao Chocolate

Winter Spice

English Toffee

Iced Cappuccino Mix

Cool, refreshing, and made with REAL COFFEE. Our Iced Cappuccino Mix is a profit-maker, and can be made in a blender or vended from a granita machine. This iced version of the traditional long-roast coffee beverage with a steamed milk head is sure to please!

and Fee, Jr. Grenadine. These syrups are a must-have when you’re looking for a pop of color and sweet,

CHEERS TO THE FUTURE

Could brothers James, Owen, John, and Joseph ever have dreamed what the future would hold? Many years have passed since that little saloon/delicatessen was established in 1864. After over 150 years, our mission to provide the world with consistent quality and variety has never wavered.

The care that Fee Brothers puts into bottling our products and the concern for each and every customer’s needs carries the company into the future.