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Christina's avatar

While we wait for The Suderman Cocktail Book (please write one!), I recommend picking up a copy of Raising the Bar. It’s a really nice, well organized intro to making cocktails.

I spent a few years working my way through the entire thing and feel pretty confident mixing drinks at this point.

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David Burke's avatar

By Nick Mautone! My friend and erstwhile partner in restaurant crime…

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Peter Suderman's avatar

Oh! Yes there are actually two (at least) books with this title…

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Peter Suderman's avatar

Yes! Strong agree.

One of the authors, Jacob Grier, is an old friend, so I'm a little biased, but it's probably the best starter book for a home bartender I've come across.

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Matthew Schinnell's avatar

I’ll throw in a recommendation for Michael Ruhlman’s “The Book of Cocktail Ratios.” Basic schema of a drink, modify based on taste and imagination.

And to Peter’s credit, many of his recipes come with variations or variation suggestions. Even if I don’t try them or follow them exactly, they at least provide a seed of an idea.

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Peter Suderman's avatar

Yep, good book, with a really smart, approachable concept. There is also a great sidebar in that book about how Rittenhouse became the cocktail world's go-to rye whiskey.

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David Burke's avatar

Only because the BiB Rye from Old Pepper Distillery is one of the greatest held secrets of the spirit world…

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Jake Y's avatar

Sorry, I somehow missed that the new Suderdog is named Huckleberry. I mentioned this stuff a while back when you wrote about the Montana but now you really have to get some https://www.glacierdistilling.com/spirits/bearproof If you ever decide to have a DC newsletter party I will bring the bottle

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Peter Suderman's avatar

Guess I'll finally have to order a bottle for the little (soon-to-be-big) guy...

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R. Scott Hannay's avatar

That infographic was great. How did you get it as a poster?

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Peter Suderman's avatar

It's super fun. Vinepair used to sell prints. Not sure they do anymore, unfortunately.

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Joshua Hughes's avatar

I use the search function on your Substack and it's pretty effective when I want to look up different variations of a cocktail or when I buy a new bottle. I always end up reading (or re-reading) a few posts.

And I am with you on picking a drink and experimenting with small variations over days or weeks to figure out what works.

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Fred Bartlett's avatar

I could take all your Substack cocktail posts and produce a long and discursive book (ebook, pdf, or both). It’s the kind of thing I’ve done for many well-known publishers.

Though today I’m a data guy at a Big Five publisher – one that publishes many of the cocktail books you’ve featured over the years.

Let me know if you’re interested.

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Marty M's avatar

He is a lovely dog!

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Joe Smith's avatar

Call it, the obvious "Cocktails with Suderman" or maybe

"Cocktails with Peter"

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