Lawrence Batterton is a medicinal herbalist by trade who a decade ago stumbled, quite successfully, into the bitters business. “I started making cocktail bitters for holiday gifts. I'd play around with different recipes, like 'Winter Blend' or 'Silk Road,' type up my own labels and give them away to people like Christmas cookies.” His pungent creations – twice as strong as bar versions, thanks to his herbalist training – got such a popular reception that in 2017 he founded King Floyd's Bar Provisions. The Novato-based company kicked off with “Aromatic Bitters,” an original recipe with 10 spices and herbs like gentian, cacao and black walnut. King Floyd's has since grown a nationally distributed product line with “Green Chili” and “Scorched Pear and Ginger” bitters, flavored salts and sugars, and deals with Williams and Sonoma and New York celebrity bartender Sother Teague.