Cocktails with Suderman

4 days ago | cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com | Peter Suderman

In general, I have not been very impressed with ready-to-drink cocktails. No, I have not tried every single option on the market or conducted an in-depth survey. I am open to having my mind changed. But in my limited, idiosyncratic experience, pre-made, store-bought cocktails—especially those that come in single-serve containers—tend to fall somewhere between not-quite-good-enough-to-finish and so-bad-I-wonder-if-the-producers-have-ever-tasted-a-good-cocktail.

1 week ago | cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com | Peter Suderman

Close Company, the newest bar from Death & Co., launched this week in Nashville. It has a conversation pit and mini Martinis. It bills itself as a “neighborhood bar,” which is apparently a big thing now. It very much seems like we are entering an era of “retro” cocktail bars that are designed to capture a laid-back form of nostalgia for the high-end cocktail bars of 15 to 20 years ago. I’m not mad about it. But it makes me feel old. A small wine importer helped make the winning case against tariffs.

1 week ago | cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com | Peter Suderman

I thought I was done with raspberries. But it turned out that raspberries weren’t done with me. And after a few experiments and iterations, which I will trace for you below, I ended up with one of my personal favorite original cocktails. I think you’ll like it too. Cocktails With Suderman is the home bartender’s guide, with tips, tricks, techniques, theories, anecdotes, opinions, and recipes. So many recipes! Become a paid subscriber and never miss a drink.

2 weeks ago | cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com | Peter Suderman

Over the last few weeks, we havelooked at variousraspberry cocktails, as well as a modded, sage-inflected mezcal julep. These drinks might not seem like they have much in common, but the connecting thread is that they use herbs and fresh fruit to flavor cocktails. They’re what you might think of as produce-section drinks, or perhaps farmers market cocktails. They expand the possibilities of various cocktail formats by adding herbs and produce to the mix.

2 weeks ago | cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com | Peter Suderman

Before we move on from the world of raspberry cocktails, let’s make one more. This one is extremely easy to make, and despite, or perhaps because of, its simplicity, it just might be my favorite of the raspberry cocktails we’ve looked at this month. It’s a Raspberry Rum Old Fashioned. There’s almost nothing to it—it’s just a Rum Old Fashioned, with raspberry. But what a difference the addition of raspberry makes. Okay…make that two raspberries.