While sipping white vinegar straight from the bottle might induce a few winces, add fresh fruit and cane sugar and you’ve got a game changer. In the 1600s, seafaring European colonists combined vinegar, fruit and sugar to preserve fresh fruit and spruce up water and alcoholic beverages. Shrubs, also known as sipping vinegars or switchels (used exclusively for the ginger varieties), have since flown under the radar—but since 2010, Sage and Sea Farms has been bottling and marketing a tried-and-true family recipe. Recently, the Portland-based business was selected as a food finalist in the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Awards, pushing the historical throwback further into the public eye.
Sage and Sea offers an extensive, rotating collection of handmade shrubs—all made with just three ingredients. The Rainier Cherry Shrub is one way for cherry lovers to enjoy the local bounty outside of cherry season. As with all Sage and Sea shrubs (excluding a few that are outsourced for superior quality), this one is made with family-farmed fruit from Oregon and Washington. Bits of real Rainier cherries combine with cane sugar to sweeten up the distilled white vinegar base, layering juiciness into an otherwise tart and dry mouth feel. Sage and Sea recommends blending one part shrub with five to eight parts of your favorite beverage. Mix with sparkling water, or stir a few drops into your cocktail for a high proof spin.
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