Basic Shrub Formula
Makes about a quart of shrub
(Lingít for “bear piss,” or black bear urine)
I don’t think bears actually eat rhubarb. I was just having fun with the language and couldn’t figure out how to say Tlingit Powerade, so bear piss it is. While it’s no longer rhubarb season, some people (like my mom) grow so much of it in the summer, they have to put some up for winter by freezing it or making syrups and shrubs with it.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 1 drink
- 2 ounces rhubarb shrub
- 1½ ounces non-alcoholic whiskey (I like Ritual zero proof)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice (about 1/6 lemon in wedge form)
- Club soda
- 4 drops rhubarb bitters (bitters contain alcohol; omit for a 100 percent non-alcoholic drink)
- Lemon twist
Preparation
Muddle 1 lemon wedge in a cocktail shaker. Add rhubarb shrub, non-alcoholic whiskey, and rhubarb bitters and dry shake for 10 seconds. Fill a 10-ounce rocks glass with ice. Double strain, using a Hawthorne and a mesh strainer, contents of shaker into glass. Top with club soda. Express lemon oil over drink, rub the glass rim with the peel, and drop the peel in the drink for garnish. Give the drink a quick stir with a cocktail spoon.
First published in Issue 26, Winter 2022.
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