Your New Favorite Healthy-ish Cocktail of the Summer
Jenny explained in her previous post, the virtues of shrubs — those trending drinking vinegars made from a combination of fruit, sugar and vinegar — are many. For one thing, they aid in digestion and keep blood sugar levels in check. They also happen to mix well with most spirits, making them the perfect, healthy-ish mixer for cocktails at your summer barbecue.
That’s why Chef Jenny concocted a seasonal, dangerously tasty strawberry-rhubarb shrub — serve with your spirit of choice or a splash of soda water on ice, and feel good about your beverage choice this summer.
Recipe
Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub
Yields about 6 servings
Drinking Vinegar Base
Ingredients
- 8 ounces strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped
- 8 ounces rhubarb, cleaned, leaves removed and thinly sliced
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar
Directions
- In a medium pot, combine strawberries, rhubarb, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and balsamic vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a simmer and the fruit begins to break down. Reduce heat to low, add white wine vinegar, cover and cook until the fruit has turned to mush and has released all of its juices, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the fruit pulp. Refrigerate the liquid until cold and serve in cocktail (recipe below) or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Cocktail
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- 2 ounces vodka, or spirit of choice
- 4 ounces Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub
- 2 ounces soda water
- Splash of white wine vinegar
- Strawberries, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- In a rocks glass, fill to the top with ice cubes, add the vodka, shrub, soda water and white wine vinegar.
- Stir, garnish with a piece of strawberry and serve immediately.
*Since the strawberry-rhubarb drinking vinegar base in this cocktail has a dual flavor — strawberry and rhubarb — I like to double the ratio in my cocktail so the flavors really stand out against the spirit and soda water. Of course, if you’d prefer the traditional ratio of 1 part drinking vinegar, 1 part spirit and 1 part soda, that works, too!
Make your own custom cocktails in our beverage classes.