null

Welcome to Surdyk's Staff blog. Here you'll find our best tips, expertise, party ideas, and more.

Trends for 2025

Trends for 2025

Posted on Jan 29th 2025

Written by
Surdyk's Staff

We are excited about every department of the store as we head into 2025.


SPIRIT: MODERATION IS KEY

REVERSE COCKTAILS

Martinis and Manhattans are typically built 2:1 of strong spirit to vermouth. We recommend reversing that order - just be sure you are using the good stuff.

Our pick for Martinis:

Our pick for Manhattans: 


ZEBRA COCKTAILS 
Or take it one step further - why not swap out one of the components for an N/A product for a lower proof cocktail. (BONUS TREND: “Zebra Striping” the trend of including or adding N/A products into a lifestyle/recipe with alcohol) 
 
Here’s our current favorite: 

 

Reverse Black Manhattan: 
2oz Amaro Lucano N/A Amaro  
1oz Michters US*1 Single Barrel Rye Whiskey 
3 dashes All The Bitter alcohol-free Aromatic Bitters 
 
Stir all ingredients together with ice until well-chilled. Strain into a lowball glass. Garnish with a cherry. 


SPIRIT: SINGLE SOURCED GRAIN

Distillers will continue to devote more efforts to showcasing grain to glass. Typically, producers buy commodity grain stored in large bins that combine truckloads sourced from multiple farms. Leaders in the industry are barreling distillate from single sources and finding better results by using heirloom varieties.   
 
Minnesota’s own Far North Distillery is a pioneer in this endeavor. Their unique, open-pollinated rye varietals are selected and farmed specifically for their flavor when distilled, a radical approach that is virtually unheard of in the industry. When grown in our unique terrior and distilled in small batches, that potential is realized in a spectrum of rich flavors not found in mass-produced whiskies. 
 
Far North Single Varietal Ryes:

 

Oklon

Hazlet

Musketeer


WINE: REVIVAL

The wine industry has been through it the past few years. When the pandemic hit, we saw the rise of the at home bartender and hard liquor sales skyrocketed. Then THC beverages entered the market and became the new darling of the beverage world. Now we are seeing a shift back to wine. And not just a bottle to elevate your next meal (even though it can like no other beverage out there), but to the story behind the bottle. How was it made? Who made it? How many generations of hard work and dedication have led to that very bottle you are about to open? There is history and mystery in every glass of wine if you are willing to look deep enough. 
 
Two to try:

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT

The small plain of the Valle dell’Adige is wedged into the Dolomites and for centuries has been feed by the Noce River provides a fertile environment for the little-known Teroldego grape. Fortunately, this land is under the care of Elisabetta Foradori, who considers herself a ‘free farmer’ whose purpose is to respect the earth and the authenticity of the plants she grows, while conveying with each bottle of wine the character of the land of Trentino. Her wines are legendary.  

Peyrassol La Croix Red IGP Mediterranean

Rosé and Provençal wines are practically synonymous, but this bottle shows how the same Mediterranean influence that we love in our rosé can make for a great bottle of Red. Peyrassol is a particularly historic estate - the first recorded harvest dates back to 1265, founded and controlled by the Knight's Templar, and wine production has been continuous since.


AT HOME WINE TASTING KITS 

If you are looking to expand your wine knowledge – we offer At Home Tasting Kits – allowing you to taste and learn at your own pace and in your own space.


BEER: CRAFT LITE

The trend for healthier options is being felt in the beer world, too. Craft breweries, known for their creative takes on beer styles from every corner of the world are answering the call with a new wave of “light” and “low-cal” options that aren’t just abv and calorie conscience – they taste great, too. This isn’t a Sessions resurgence with all-day drinking in mind; just good beer, made lighter.

  

Two to try: 


SAKE: BARREL-AGED

The popularity of Sake continues to rise year after year, and people are diving deeper into the genre. We’ve always offered a large selection of sake which allows us to stock beyond the basic styles. The barrel-aged versions were featured in a recent Sake class, and we completely sold out! Barrel-aging sake isn’t a new practice, it’s been around for centuries when high-quality Japanese Cedar-aged Sakes were considered an extreme luxury. Today breweries, while still honoring the ancient method using cedar, are aging in barrels which previously housed sherries and whiskeys.  
 

Two to try:

Search Articles