Shrub doesn’t sound like something to drink. Yet it is. It’s a vinegar-based drink from 17th-century England that traditionally started with pouring vinegar over fruit to infuse the fruit flavor. The resulting liquid, when combined with a sweetener, was boiled and reduced to create a sweet/sour syrup (called a shrub) that with the addition of various liquids became the basis of alcoholic or nonalcoholic drinks (also called shrubs). As for the name, shrub, it’s got nothing to do with garden greenery; it’s said to come from an Arabic word sharāb, meaning “to drink.”
Although vinegar might seem an unlikely ingredient in a drink, remember that lemons and limes – the ingredients that make many drinks tart today – weren’t widely available in England or Colonial America at the time, but some type of vinegar was often at hand. Call it a recipe derived from kitchen ingenuity.
For the best results with this tangy drink, make the effort to find the white balsamic vinegar called for in the recipe.
Ingredients:
For the Watermelon Shrub (Vinegar Syrup)
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 pound of watermelon chunks (no need to remove the seeds)
For the Watermelon Shrub & Club (Both the Nonalcoholic and Alcoholic Drink, serves 1)
2 ounces watermelon shrub (vinegar syrup)
Soda water or club soda, for topping off (to taste)
For an alcoholic cocktail (optional): Mezcal (to taste)
1 mint sprig, for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
For the Watermelon Shrub: In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and vinegar over medium-low heat, stirring until all the sugar dissolves. Transfer to a blender or other heatproof container and place in the refrigerator to cool.
When cool, place the vinegar syrup and watermelon (don’t worry about the seeds) in a blender and blend until liquified. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Watermelon shrub will keep for a year or more in the refrigerator (the vinegar is, in effect, pickling it).
For the Watermelon Shrub & Club (Drink and Cocktail): In an ice-filled highball glass, add the watermelon shrub; for an alcoholic cocktail, add mezcal, which will add a smoky taste. With either drink, and top it off with soda water. Garnish with the mint sprig. Serve.
–Adapted from recipes by Danny Childs, mixologist at the Farm and Fisherman Tavern in New Jersey. Published in The Ark of Taste: Delicious and Distinctive Foods that Define the United States, by Slow Food USA, Giselle Kennedy Lord and David S. Shields, Little, Brown and Company, 2023.
Recipe tested by Ellen Ficklen; email questions to hello@watermelontimes.com