shrubdrinks

What Is A Shrub Beverage?

I'm always interested by just how cocktails obtain their names-- and also after surfing my fair share of bar food selections, there is one term particularly I have actually always considered: the shrub. What makes a drink a shrub? And how did this word, which I associate with a well-groomed garden, come to be associated with cocktails?

" Shrub" is actually the name of two different alcohol-related beverages, and vinegar plays a pretty huge duty in this beverage's background. One kind is a fruit liqueur that was especially popular in 17th century England, made with rum or brandy, sugar, fruit and also citrus juice-- though vinegar was utilized as opposed to citrus to protect berries in the off-season. This liqueur would then be blended with level or sparkling water to produce a mixed drink. The other sort of shrub is a sweetened vinegar-based syrup that can be utilized to make a drink-- this is additionally called "drinking vinegar," and is generally infused with fruit juice, natural herbs and also flavors.

The history of the word "shrub" comes from the Arabic sharbah, which means "a beverage," though "sherbet" and "syrup also originated from this origin. Do I sense a motif? Shrubs stretch back to the Babylonians, that mixed date vinegar into water to make it safe to consume, and the Romans, who created posca from combining vinegar and water.

The early English variation of a shrub (likewise called a switchel) was inspired by 15th century medical drinks as well as a Persian friendly called sekanjabin, made with honey and also vinegar. Shrubs and switchels were originally marketed as health restoratives-- seafarers drank them to avoid scurvy and also to stay in "ardent spirits."