This is the drink I'd put in front of anybody standing around the new firepit or the hot tub who wants something tall and low-effort in the glass. The interesting part is the shrub, an acid-forward technique that's the same move I lean on constantly in the spirit-free work, sugar and vinegar and fruit, and it carries brightness a straight rye and soda never gets close to. Nobody outside this city knows this drink exists, which is exactly why it belongs on this list.
How it's made
1Build the shrub, a day ahead
This is a punch-family technique, macerate first, add the acid second, and it's the highest-value thing I know for stretching one afternoon of work into a whole season of patio drinks. It keeps refrigerated for three to four weeks.
- Combine 1 cup raspberries and 1 cup sugar in a jar. Muddle lightly, cover, and let sit at room temperature 24 hours, stirring once or twice.
- Strain out the solids, pressing to get the syrup through.
- Stir in 3/4 cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Bottle and refrigerate.
2Build over ice, to order
Soda goes flat fast once it's mixed into a batch, this is a drink to build one glass at a time even for a crowd, the shrub base is what you're allowed to prep ahead.
- Fill a collins glass with ice.
- Add 2 oz (60 ml) rye or cognac and 3/4 oz (22 ml) raspberry shrub.
- Top with about 4 oz (120 ml) soda water, stir once, gently, to combine without losing the carbonation.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Notes
No pineapple, kiwi, tomato, or capsaicin. Full-proof cocktail, standard consumption note applies, not mine to weigh in on who's having one.
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