Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Bartenders love using Suze in cocktails, and so should you

Ever wonder how to use Suze? It's easy and a great way to up your cocktail game

Sam Slaughter
By

L'histoire de Suze version EN
Suze is a ubiquitous feature at the bar, but it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, the Swiss brand of bitters made its splash stateside just a decade ago. Needless to say, it’s gained quite a following since and is counted on in a number of great cocktails.

It may never be as popular here as it is in Europe (France especially), but Suze should still be on your radar. If you like aromatic liqueurs that can really inject some personality into a cocktail, this one is worth having on hand. Plus, the bottle looks cool and the label is a bonafide work of art.

Related Videos

What is Suze?

Suze is, plainly, a bitter aperitif (which we are no strangers to here). The main ingredient is gentian root, specifically the species gentiana lutea (Great Yellow Gentian), which imparts the bitter, vegetal flavors the drink is known for. Gentian is also used in a number of other beverages — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — such as Gentian (obvious, right?) and the soft drink, Moxie. The plant grows in Switzerland and France, which is a great segue into …

Great Yellow Gentian on a hillside.

Where is Suze from and when was it created?

Suze was originally created in the 1880s (made in 1885, it wasn’t put on the market until 1889) by Fernand Moreaux in the Swiss village of Sonvilier. The name has two origin stories, both of which are acknowledged, but neither can be confirmed. The first says that Suze is a reference to Moreaux’s sister, Suzanne. The second states that it is called Suze because of the Suze River, which runs near where Moreaux is said to have gathered the ingredients needed to make the spirit. Suze got its big break in 1889 when Moreaux brought it to the Exposition Universelle (“World’s Fair”) in Paris.

The town of Sonvilier in Switzerland.

Suze grew in popularity after its introduction in France, going so far as to be the focus of the Pablo Picasso piece La bouteille de Suze (Bottle of Suze), which was painted in 1912.

Currently, Suze is made in Thuir, France, near the border of Spain. The creation of Suze happens over the course of a little over a year. First, the prepared gentian is left to macerate in alcohol for at least a year. The gentian roots are pressed for the liquid, which is then used in distillation. From there, other aromatic ingredients are added to create the final product.

How do you use Suze?

Relatively low in alcohol (only 20 percent ABV), Suze is a bit of a renaissance spirit, functioning well in a number of different environments and drinks. Depending on what you’re trying to do and what your palate is like, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to use Suze. The first choice would be straight or on the rocks. Other simple options are Suze and soda, Suze and tonic, or as an additive to classic drinks like Martinis. This way, you get to see the flavor profile at work before you start adding it into cocktails.

Suze and cocktail in a split-screen image.

Consider it in other staples too, like a White Negroni or a riff on the classic Sazerac. Still want more? Check out the following cocktails.

Suze des Montagnes

Hibiscus tea in a cup.
Photo by Tea Creative │ Soo Chung on Unsplash

Here, Suze mixes it up with hot water and tea, along with some soothing additions like cinnamon and citrus. It’s a cold-weather sipper just in time for the fall season and falling leaves.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 ounces Suze
  • 2 ounces of hot water
  • 2 ounces bergamot tea
  • 1/4 ounce cinnamon syrup
  • 1/4 ounce vanilla pod
  • 1 slice each orange and lemon zest

Method

  1. Add liquid ingredients to mug and mix.
  2. Add zests and vanilla pod and serve.

Stargazer

The Stargazer cocktail from Death & Co.

This Death & Co. cocktail is as dazzling in flavor as it looks. It’s from the company’s Denver outpost and showcases Suze beside spicy vodka, Japanese liqueur, and more.

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Ketel One Vodka
  • 1/2 ounce Suze
  • 1/4 ounce St. George Green Chile Vodka
  • 1/4 ounce Midori
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice
  • 3/4 ounce cucumber syrup
  • Top with seltzer

Method

  1. Short shake all ingredients besides the seltzer and strain into a Collins glass over a large cube.
  2. Top with seltzer and garnish with a cucumber ribbon.

Ranch Water

The Ranch Water cocktail from Blackbarn in NYC.

Here’s an upscale Ranch Water from NYC’s Blackbarn. It takes on the usual lime and agave and adds aromatics with gin, along with Suze and some pineapple and cilantro.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 ounces Botanist Gin
  • 1/2 ounce Suze
  • 1 1/4 ounces pineapple cilantro puree
  • 3/4 ounce lime
  • 3/4 ounce agave

Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously.
  2. Double strain into a coupe glass with a blade leaf.
  3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
Erythritol is common in many keto foods - what does that mean for your health?
erythritol in keto diet advice

While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
One such diet that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, is the Keto diet. Still hugely popular among Americans trying to shed a few pounds, Keto focuses heavily on limited or no carbohydrates. Because sugar contains carbohydrates, followers of Keto have turned to artificial sweeteners to satisfy those late-night cravings - sweeteners that, more often than not, contain erythritol. Erythritol in particular has become hugely popular because it's much better for baking than other sugar substitutes, has less of an artificial flavor, and will keep the eater in Ketosis, which is key for losing weight on the Keto diet.
A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

Read more
Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more
These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more