According to the tour guide at the Angostura bitters factory in Trinidad (see video below), these bitters were created by two brothers.

Early on, they were entering a contest, and in preparation, one brother was in charge of the bottle and the other brother was in charge of the label. They did not communicate on sizes.

It was too late to fix an they entered the contest. They lost, but one judge remarked about their signature labeling, and that they were on to something.

They have kept this signature label, too big for the bottle, ever since.

I suppose we are talking about it.
Story of Angostura Bitters Label – YouTubeWhy is the Angostura Bitters label too big for the bottle? A tour guide at the Angostura distillery and museum in Port of Spain, Trinidad tells the story.via: www.youtube.com

For anyone doubting this story,I remembered that I have a smaller bottle as well and stood them next to each other. The smaller bottle’s label would actually fit perfectly on the larger bottle.

They’re definitely making the labels too big.