Suze – A Measured Spirit

Getting to know Suze

Any home bartender with a credit card quickly learns that you can look like a genius if you just buy the right stuff. So get yourself a bottle of Suze — rhymes with “booze” — and bask in the admiration.

Suze liqueur recipes — Picasso’s “Bottle of Suze,” 1912. You can get one for $30. The Suze, I mean, not the painting.

Though it’s been imported into the U.S. since 2012, Suze is still a kind of secret handshake among cocktaileurs, spotted mostly on the upper shelves of bars that use different sizes of ice cubes. This complex and bitter liqueur has been made in France since 1889, the year the Moulin Rouge opened. Not a bad cultural landmark to share an anniversary with.

Tasting Suze

Taken neat, the first thing you notice is the dry front-of-the-mouth feel you get with any bitter. I’m reminded a bit of Cocchi Americano. Continue reading “Getting to know Suze”