1/2 oz. (ca. 14.7 ml.) drinking vinegar/shrub
2 oz. (ca. 59 ml.) vermouth or sherry
seltzer or club soda to taste
Stir together and serve at once, probably over ice.
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2 oz (ca. 59 ml.) dark rum
1/2 oz. (ca. 14.7 ml.) drinking vinegar/shrub
3 oz. (ca. 88.7 ml.) club soda or seltzer
Stir together and serve at once, probably over ice.
Variations:
- Leave out the rum for a non-alcoholic version.
- Replace the club soda with ginger beer or tonic water.
Adapted from Serious Eats
The long, chatty bit
Vinegar is all the rage just now; would it be inaccurate to call it "the new milk"? Or maybe that's just the circles I move in; several of my friends are into the whole alkalizing thing, and apparently drinking vinegar, although it's an acid, has an alkalizing effect because of the way the body reacts to it ("nooo, don't give me acid! I'll just rev up my acid processing and base producing functions and make myself more alkaline instead, so there!" -- or am I the only one whose body is that contrary?).
Anyway, there was a new vendor at the Tumwater Farmers' Market this week, selling "sipping vinegar" -- try to say that 3 times without accidentally saying "sipping liquor" instead -- and giving out samples. The vinegar is called Wild Heart, but the company is called OH!SHRUBS.
I was vaguely aware of shrub as a kind of drink, something in the punch or cordial line, but after trying it, I was inspired to look a little further. Dictionary first: my aging Chambers defines a shrub as, in the UK, "a mixed drink of lemon or other citrus fruit juice, sugar, spices, and a spirit, esp. rum" (making it similar to the Rum Swizzle of Bermudian fame) and, in the US, "a cordial of fruit juice (e.g. raspberry) and vinegar." Seems the term comes from the Arabic sharab and the word is related to "sherbet." Further consultation tells me a cordial is not, as I'd always vaguely assumed, a liqueur-like drink of some sort, but rather a non-alcoholic refresher. Huh; well, there's my new thing learned today (I find I'm happiest if I can learn at least one thing every day).
But I kept thinking about that blackberry juice concentrate I have on my pantry shelf. Could I make my own "sipping vinegar" by mixing that with cider, or maybe balsamic, vinegar and possibly some cinnamon or grains of paradise? So off to the internet I went....
Wikipedia, which is quick if of dubious repute, adds that the first kind of shrub is a "fruit liqueur that was popular in the 17th and 18th century England, typically made with rum or brandy mixed with sugar and the juice or rinds of citrus fruit." It evolved from 15th century medicinal cordials and Persian sekanjabin and had fallen out of fashion by the late 19th century. The second kind is a "cocktail or soft drink that was popular during America's colonial era, made by mixing a vinegared syrup with spirits, water, or carbonated water." It originated from the 17th-century English practice of using vinegar instead of citrus juice to preserve berries and fruit (producing yet another kind of shrub) and remained common until refrigerators made it too much work. Drinking vinegar, Wikipedia says, is the sweetened vinegar syrup from which the cocktails are made, which can also be called -- you guessed it -- shrub. There are also "shrubs" made with alcohol and versions that use acidic fruit juices instead of vinegar, but for now let's look at the traditional vinegar-based shrub.
The idea of vinegar as a drink ingredient is very old, going back to at least 2nd century B.C. Rome, where posca was a popular soldier's and working-man's thirst quencher. Even before that, mixing sour wine or vinegar with herbs was a common medicinal practice.
Another vinegar-and-water drink worth mentioning is switchel or haymaker's punch, which was often flavored with ginger and in which sweetening was optional. I have heard switchel described as "colonial-era Gatorade," along with the comment that it only tastes good if you need the electrolytes the vinegar provides.
There are two ways to make the basic syrup kind of shrub or drinking vinegar. The more traditional way involves macerating (softening) the fruit in sugar for a couple of days, straining it, and adding approximately an equal amount of good vinegar (cider vinegar is traditional, although I've also seen balsamic mentioned); what might be called the quick-and-dirty method simply boils the fruit in simple syrup instead. There's a good description of both methods on the website Food52, and another version at The Spruce Eats. A long but interesting article at Serious Eats includes photos of the maceration process.
A very basic drink can be made by mixing 1 oz. of shrub (the syrup) with 5-6 oz. water, sparkling water, or club soda.
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
