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Vinegar, sugar, raspberries, time. A drinking vinegar that's brighter and more complex than any berry soda — sharp, fruity, lasting on the tongue.

Shrub recipes appear in English cookbooks from the 1600s and were a staple of American colonial kitchens — a way to preserve summer fruit through winter without refrigeration. The vinegar acted as preservative; the sugar balanced it. Pre-Prohibition bartenders used them as cocktail components; modern bartenders rediscovered them in the early 2010s. The category is exploding now.

Ingredients

• Raspberry Shrub Syrup1 ounce
• Soda Water5 ounces
• Fresh Raspberries3 each
• Mint Sprig1 each

Directions

To serve: add 1 oz raspberry shrub syrup to a highball glass with ice. Top with 4-5 oz chilled soda water. Stir gently. Garnish with fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint. For the shrub itself: combine 1 cup raspberries + 1 cup sugar in a jar, muddle, refrigerate 24 hours, add 1 cup apple cider vinegar, refrigerate another 24 hours, strain. Keeps for 2 months refrigerated.

Notes

The shrub is the syrup; the cocktail is the syrup plus soda. Make the shrub once, serve it for weeks. Two methods: cold-process (steep berries and vinegar a week, then add sugar) and hot-process (cook them together). Cold tastes brighter. Hot is faster.