Sother Hospitality
Unleash your inner cocktail.
Perfect for enthusiasts at every level, from absolute beginners to master home mixologists, Sother Hospitality is the best way to improve your home bartending skills – and have a ton of fun in the process.
(During Seasons 1-3, Sother Hospitality was called The Bitters Truth)
To purchase a kit for episodes and for complete details about the show, visit the new Sother Hospitality site at sotherhospitality.com
Become a part of it!
1) Get a kit
All the key ingredients for the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes.
Jars and bottles to steep and store your goodies. (optional)
Perfect if you’re not ready to commit to all episodes for Spring / Summer 2024.
2) Subscribe to the show
Subscribers to Sother Hospitality can participate in each episode live as it airs. Plus, you'll get access to our library of past episodes, with recordings of every show we've ever done.
What is Sother Hospitality?
Sother Hospitality is an interactive show, class, community, and cocktail R&D lab.
Guests learn to create exciting cocktail ingredients – bitters, cordials, shrubs, and more – plus tons of new cocktails featuring those ingredients. The show also explores the wider world of spirits, from cocktail applications in the kitchen to how to use lesser-known items in the liquor cabinet.
Subscribers get access to our live shows and our complete recorded episode archive. We strongly recommend that subscribers get a Pantry Box, which contains the ingredients you'll need to make the cocktails and other goodies throughout the episodes.
Tickets to individual live shows are also available, but given the show's cumulative nature, a subscription makes more sense for most guests.
The Pantry Box
his (not so) little box of joy contains everything you need to make all the goodies in Spring / Summer 2024 episodes. Includes ingredients for every cocktail, bitters, cordial, and other tasty treat we’ll cover from March to July.
Important note: The Pantry Box does not include the spirits, perishables (like citrus), or bulk grocery items (like sugar) that we’ll use during the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes. You can find a complete shopping list for the episodes here.
Shipping: All kits for the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes will begin shipping on March 21. Order before then to ensure that your items arrive before the Episode 1 premiere! Orders placed between March 21 and April 4 may arrive after the Episode 1 premiere on March 28, but will arrive in time for the second run of Episode 1 on April 11. Orders placed after April 4 may not arrive in time for either live run of Episode 1 – but you can still watch the recording of Episode 1 on the Subscriber Portal and keep up with the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes!
Single: $179 + $20 shipping = $199
Double: $335 + $40 shipping = $359
+ What will we make this Spring / Summer?
Bitters
- Damascus Bitters
- Floral Print Bitters
- Baker's Bitters
- Peppercorn Bitters
Syrups
- Juiced Ginger Syrup
- Magerated Strawberry Syrup
- Steeped Ginger Syrup
- Stewed Strawberry Syrup
- Citrus Oleo Saccharum
Shrubs
- Smoked Pineapple Shrub
Food
- Smoked Pineapple Chunks
Other Cocktail Ingredients
- Decorative Ice Block
And of course... Cocktails
- French 75
- Drumfire
- Headrush
- Strawberry Fields
- Bamboo
- Not My Cup Of Tea
- Manhattan
- The Coward
- Cozumel Campfire
- Smokey The Shark
- Daiquiri
- English Summer
- Evening Jacket
- Version 9
- Old Fashioned
- Teatime Punch (Batch & Single Servings)
- Daisy Duke (Batch & Single Serving)
- Season 3 Audience Cocktail Contest Winner
+ What's in the box?
Spice mixes
- Damascus Bitters Spice Mix
- Floral Print Bitters Spice Mix
- Baker's Bitters Spice Mix
- Peppercorn Bitters Spice Mix
- Spicy Sweet Salt
Spices
- Cinnamon stick
- Vanilla bean
- Whole nutmeg
Syrups & such
- Blackcurrant Bergamot syrup
- Demerara syrup
- Rich simple syrup
- Simple syrup
Liquid ingredients
- Orange blossom water
- Champagne vinegar
- Peach iced tea
Preserved Fruit & Other Ingredients
- Fabbri Amarena cherry
- Prune
- Dried California apricots
- Lapsang Souchong tea
Equipment
- Small mesh strainer
- Small funnel
- Mesh drain cover
- Oak stave
- Applewood chips
- 8x wood skewers
- 2x tea lights
- 4x empty tea bags
- Cocktail umbrella
What's NOT included
- The Pantry Box does not include the spirits, perishables (like citrus), or bulk grocery items (like sugar) that we’ll use during the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes. You can find a complete shopping list for the episodes here.
Don’t forget the glass!
Sure, you could steep your bitters in a coffee mug covered in plastic wrap and store your finished syrups in old peanut butter jars... but do you really want to? Get elegant, custom-labeled containers for everything we'll do in Spring / Summer 2024 episodes, delivered right to your doorstep.
+ What's included?
Four 4 oz bitters bottles with dasher caps, with one custom label for each bitters we'll make this Spring / Summer.
Six 8 oz bottles for storing Spring / Summer 2024 syrups and other liquid ingredients, each with a custom label
Three 750ml bottles for oaking and batching the Spring / Summer 2024 large format cocktails
16 oz Macerated Strawberry Syrup Aging Jar
6 oz Bitters Steeping Jar
2x 4 oz mason jars for storing the delicious solid byproducts: Stewed Strawberries and Cold-Candied Strawberries
2x 2 oz plastic freezer bottles for long term storage of syrups
The Glassware Kit Add On: $99
For the merely curious: try Just a Taste!
Flirting with the idea of joining Sother Hospitality, but not quite ready to commit to all Spring / Summer 2024 episodes yet? We've got you covered.
The Just a Taste kit gives you a chance to check out Sother Hospitality, without signing up for the all Spring / Summer 2024 episodes quite yet. The kit includes everything you'll need to participate in Episode 1, plus ingredients you'll need to make the cocktails in Episode 2 (since the bitters that you make in Episode 1 need a few weeks to steep, they won't show up in a cocktail until Episode 2 – and we want you to be able to taste your handiwork!).
The kit also includes complimentary access to Episodes 1 and 2 – a $40 value!
With a Just a Taste kit, you can always upgrade to a Pantry Box later by paying the difference in cost.
Important note: The Just a Taste kit does not include the items you'll need to make the bitters or syrup in Episode 2, just ingredients for the cocktails. Like the complete Pantry Box, the Just a Taste kit also does not include the alcohol, perishable items (like citrus), or bulk grocery items (like sugar) that you'll need for Episodes 1 and 2. You can find a complete shopping list for the episodes here.
Shipping: All kits for Spring / Summer 2024 will begin shipping on March 21. Order before then to ensure that your items arrive before the Episode 1 premiere! Orders placed between March 21 and April 4 may arrive after the Episode 1 premiere on March 28, but will arrive in time for the second run of Episode 1 on April 11. Orders placed after April 4 may not arrive in time for either live run of Episode 1 – but you can still watch the recording of Episode 1 on the Subscriber Portal and keep up with the episodes!
+ What's in the box?
Spice mixes
- Damascus Bitters Spice Mix
Syrups & such
- Simple syrup
Preserved ingredients
- Fabbri Amarena cherry
Spices
- Vanilla bean (half)
Dry ingredients
- Dried California apricots
- Lapsang Souchong tea
Equipment
- Small mesh strainer
- Small funnel
- Empty tea bag
Optional Glassware
- One 4 oz bitters bottle with dasher caps, with a custom Damascus Bitters label
- Four 8 oz bottles for storing the syrups from Episode 1, each with a custom label:
- Stewed Strawberry Syrup
- Macerated Strawberry Syrup
- Juiced Ginger Syrup
- Steeped Ginger Syrup
- 6 oz Bitters Steeping Jar
What's NOT included
- The Just a Taste kit does not include the items you'll need to make the bitters or syrup in Episode 2, just ingredients for the cocktails. Like the complete Pantry Box, the Just a Taste kit also does not include the alcohol, perishable items (like citrus), or bulk grocery items (like sugar) that you'll need for Episodes 1 and 2. You can find a complete shopping list for the episodes here.
Without glassware: $34.99 + $15 shipping = $49.99
With glassware: $59.99 + $25 shipping = $84.99
Add a Refractometer!
We're going to be making a lot of syrups and other sweeteners this Spring / Summer. This handy piece of kit is the best way to be sure that your sugar levels are just right – with science!
Measures Brix from zero to 80. Sother will show the audience how to use a refractometer in Episode 1.
Spring / Summer 2024 Schedule
March 28, 8:30pm EST
Episode 1: Sweet Talk
April 11, 8:30pm EST
Second Run of Episode 1: Sweet Talk
April 25, 2024, 8:30pm EST
Episode 2: The Little Things
May 16, 2024, 8:30pm EST
Episode 3: Smoke Show
June 13, 2024, 8:30pm EST
Episode 4: Bigger is Better
July 11, 2024, 8:30pm EST
Episode 5: Standard Procedure
Spring / Summer 2024 episodes
Ep. 1 Sweet Talk
March 28, 8:30pm Eastern; second run on April 11, 8:30pm Eastern.
This episode is all about the sweet stuff – syrup. We'll explore four key techniques for making professional-grade cocktail syrups: macerating, stewing, steeping, and juicing. A fifth crucial family of syrup, oleo saccharum, will get some attention later in the Spring / Summer 2024 episodes, but we just couldn't squeeze another thing into this episode.
What we'll make: Juiced Ginger Syrup, Steeped Ginger Syrup, Macerated Strawberry Syrup, Stewed Strawberry Syrup, Damascus Bitters, French 75, Headrush, Drumfire, Strawberry Fields
Ep 2: The Little Things
April 25, 2024, 8:30pm Eastern
Sometimes the smallest details make all the difference. Join us as we examine the impacts that tiny changes can have on your experience of a cocktail. We'll build three drinks, split each in half, and introduce one small difference in each pair: bitters; a citrus twist; and proof of the base spirit.
What we'll make: Citrus Oleo Saccharum, Floral Print Bitters, Not My Cup of Tea, Bamboo, Manhattan, The Coward (oaked)
Ep 3: Smoke Show
May 16, 2024, 8:30pm Eastern
This episode is smokin' hot! We're going to show you how to smoke both cocktail ingredients and entire cocktails at home, using gear that only costs $4 (versus $150+ for the smoking guns typically used at cocktail bars). Plus, we'll compare an oaked cocktail to a non-oaked version and taste some of the best drinks from the Spring / Summer episodes.
What we'll make: Smoked Pineapple Chunks, Smoked Pineapple Shrub, Baker's Bitters, The Coward (un-oaked), Cozumel Campfire, Smokey the Shark
Ep 4: Bigger is Better
June 13, 2024, 8:30pm Eastern
Whether you're trying to serve fantastic drinks at your party without spending all night stirring and shaking, or just trying to save yourself some hassle at home by making easy-to-pour drinks in advance, this episode will show you the ropes when it comes to making large batches of cocktails at once.
What we'll make: Peppercorn Bitters, Teatime Punch, Daisy Duke, winner of the Season 3 audience cocktail contest
Ep 5: Standard Procedure
July 11, 2024, 8:30pm Eastern
Ever feel like you've learned how to make a million cocktails, but you can never remember any recipes when you really need to? Let's cover some simple formulas that you can use to create classic cocktails standards, or that you can adjust to create new and exciting drinks of your own.
What we'll make: Daiquiri, English Summer, Old Fashioned, Evening Jacket, Version 9
Meet Your Host
Sother Teague spent his early career apprenticing with culinary legends like Alton Brown and Ben and Karen Barker before falling in love with bartending. After his tenure at the renowned East Village bitters bar Amor y Amargo, Sother went on to become a partner in New York watering holes Blue Quarter and Windmill. His book I'm Just Here for the Drinks became an instant classic in the cocktail literature lexicon. Teague was Wine Enthusiast's 2017 Mixologist of the Year.
