I picked up the PDT Cocktail Book a
couple of weeks ago and have been experimenting with it here and
there. I've figured out that margaritas don't need that pre-made syrup
that looks a little too neon yellow to be natural, and that rinsing a
glass with triple sec makes a Negroni taste a little different, and to
my palette, a lot better. Then the inevitable happened. I had an idea.
I'd been reading about shrubs for a few months, and had been dismissing them as a "hipster thing" and kept on drinking the same thing over and over. It's always good to have a go-to cocktail. Someone says "I think it's time for a cocktail" and you're ready to go. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I lucked out and got to go to the Taste of Potrero. One of the drinks on the menu there was a grapefruit and rosemary shrub mixed with gin. Long story short, I was wowed by the taste. Nothing like the pickle brine cocktail I had thought it would be.
I took the blueberries from the freezer, tossed on some vinegar, and let them steep. A week later, I drained the berries, mashed them to get the rest of the liquid out, and then boiled with sugar. Voila, a shrub was born. Now for the experimentation!
This weekend, with a few willing taste testers, we had the following:
#1: 2 oz Absolut & 2 oz of shrub, splash of soda and garnish with a lemon wedge or wheel.
#2: Same as the #1, but with a squeeze of lemon juice stirred in.
#3: 3 oz bourbon, 2 oz shrub, 1 oz Aperol, and a splash of soda.
The tasting panel enjoyed both 2 & 3 the most. #1 seemed a little lacking, and maybe bitters would have helped round things out. The #3 was, if I recall, the best of the night. For some reason, the bourbon and blueberry flavors complemented each other a lot more than I thought they would. The Aperol added a nice bitter note, cutting through some of the sweetness of the shrub.
Finally, I had a taster on the panel who was not partaking of alcohol, because she's severely under the legal drinking age. For her, I crafted up the "fancy kid cocktail", also known as #4.
#4: 2 oz shrub and 6 oz soda water. Stir, and make a 5 year old's night.
More of this to come, and suggestions happily taken and tested.
I'd been reading about shrubs for a few months, and had been dismissing them as a "hipster thing" and kept on drinking the same thing over and over. It's always good to have a go-to cocktail. Someone says "I think it's time for a cocktail" and you're ready to go. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I lucked out and got to go to the Taste of Potrero. One of the drinks on the menu there was a grapefruit and rosemary shrub mixed with gin. Long story short, I was wowed by the taste. Nothing like the pickle brine cocktail I had thought it would be.
I took the blueberries from the freezer, tossed on some vinegar, and let them steep. A week later, I drained the berries, mashed them to get the rest of the liquid out, and then boiled with sugar. Voila, a shrub was born. Now for the experimentation!
This weekend, with a few willing taste testers, we had the following:
#1: 2 oz Absolut & 2 oz of shrub, splash of soda and garnish with a lemon wedge or wheel.
#2: Same as the #1, but with a squeeze of lemon juice stirred in.
#3: 3 oz bourbon, 2 oz shrub, 1 oz Aperol, and a splash of soda.
The tasting panel enjoyed both 2 & 3 the most. #1 seemed a little lacking, and maybe bitters would have helped round things out. The #3 was, if I recall, the best of the night. For some reason, the bourbon and blueberry flavors complemented each other a lot more than I thought they would. The Aperol added a nice bitter note, cutting through some of the sweetness of the shrub.
Finally, I had a taster on the panel who was not partaking of alcohol, because she's severely under the legal drinking age. For her, I crafted up the "fancy kid cocktail", also known as #4.
#4: 2 oz shrub and 6 oz soda water. Stir, and make a 5 year old's night.
More of this to come, and suggestions happily taken and tested.
