Blue Bells
Here at Make & Muddle we pride ourselves on our 3 ingredients cocktails. We have always wanted to make folks’ lives easier and better by doing the heavy lifting in cocktails. We love creating sophisticated, delicious mixers that allow you to add a spirit and one other ingredient. This cocktail is a great example of that.
Shrubs have a long history. Babylonians added vinegar to their water to help “purify” it, Romans drank vinegar based drinks to quench their thirst in the heat and Italian immigrants brought vinegar based drinks to America with them on ships that used the vinegar not only to purify the water, but also disinfect the ship to prevent disease outbreaks.
Technically a shrub is any fruit that is macerated with vinegar and any other botanicals. The mixture is then kept in the fridge for up to a month so that the flavors can marry and mellow over time. For Make & Muddle, we strain the solids out and add sugar to the vinegar to create a delicious syrup and, of course, an ingredient for cocktails. There are also quick shrub recipes that can be made immediately if you lack the patience (or refrigerator space) for a 3 week steep.
Forgiving by nature, shrub recipes are an ideal place to experiment with different flavor profiles. If you can dream it, chances are it can be made into a shrub. And with the ingredients generally being cost effective, it is a home run recipe and sure fire way to wow guests.
Our Blueberry Lavender Shrub was created to add complexity and aromatics to any spirit. Bourbon does the job here. It is just shrub, bourbon, and seltzer water. It doesn’t get any easier, folks. Get this shrub while you can, as it is now a Spring product only.
Our bourbon of choice for this cocktail is Smooth Ambler Old Scout bourbon. This higher rye bourbon has tobacco, chocolate and some nice stone fruit flavors that play well with the shrub.
Blue Bells
2 oz bourbon
1 oz blueberry lavender shrub
Seltzer water
Mix first two ingredients in a glass with ice. Top with seltzer and garnish with a lemon twist.
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