Anyone who really knows how to cook will understand this analogy.

A mass of bitters, false bitters and tinctures can be collected very easily and then conspicuously displayed at the bar. A lot of people who don’t know much about the making of drinks will be caught in rapt adoration of the sight. But, such an array is in no way a guarantee of mixological tradition — or even of the simple ability to make a good drink. This lack of correlation is just as real as the lack of correlation between the sight of a deluxe spice rack and any actual cooking skill. People who marvel at a spice rack also marvel at a battery of bitters. I trust that most of my readers are above such silliness.