You didn’t think we’d leave you without a Friday cocktail recipe, did you? Not that long ago, Nole and I introduced our first shrub and promised more to come. So, without too much ado, here it is: our Peach & Berry Summer Shrub, a light and refreshing drink redolent of fresh fruit. – Andrew
Illustration by Tuesday Bassen for Oh So Beautiful Paper
Summer Shrub
2 oz Rum
3/4 oz Summer Shrub Syrup
1/4 oz Rich Simple Syrup
Ginger Beer
To make the Summer Shrub Syrup: Combine 1 cup muddled blueberries, strawberries, and peaches with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup vinegar. (We used equal parts white balsamic and champagne vinegar). Let everything sit for a few days, giving it a stir every now and then. Strain the mix through a fine sieve or cheesecloth and store in the fridge.
To make the Summer Shrub: combine the rum, shrub syrup, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain over fresh ice. Top with a splash of ginger beer and enjoy!
Our Summer Shrub is sweet and tart, with crisp and beautifully clear fruit flavors, with a touch of spiciness from the ginger beer and oakiness from the vinegar. Steeping the fruit in the vinegar for a few days really does let the fruit flavors shine through beautifully. It’s like summer in a glass. This one takes a little bit of planning ahead, since the shrub syrup takes a few days to make properly. So get started today!
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
Yum! I’ll have to try the splash of ginger beer, so good! Love the illustration!
xo kristen genevieve
sunnywithachanceoflemons.blogspot.com
When you say to use 1 cup blueberries, strawberries and peaches are you to use 1 cup of each or is it 1 cup of all three of those combined?
Hi Jamie–good question! I used one cup total of very well muddled fruit (mashed up really well so the vinegar soaked up as much fruit flavor as possible). I started with probably about 3/4 of a cup of each blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, but ended up with about 1 cup of pulped fruit.
The general rule for making fruit shrubs is one part fruit to one part vinegar to one part sugar, but this is an art, not a science. I just threw some fruit into a measuring cup and started mashing until I had a cup–your proportions might be different or you could use entirely different fruit and I’m sure it would come out pretty great.
Let us know how your shrub turns out!