Blackberry & Lime Shrub

Shrubs. What to say about shrubs… A shrub is a Colonial way of preserving summer fruit. The fruit is mixed with sugar to macerate, creating a syrup. The syrup is diluted with vinegar which preserves it. Herbs, spices and a blend of fruits can be used to create a complex tart and sweet beverage base. More here. I made a cherry balsamic shrub once before and found it very heavy on the vinegar and difficult to enjoy. I do like vinegar, but it isn’t immediately appealing to drink it. I saw this Blackberry Lime shrub on Beehive Bitters Instagram account and it looked great. SO I gave shrubs another shot! This one does not disappoint!

I changed nothing about this recipe and barely tweaked the drink recipe they provided with the shrub. All credit for this delicious creation goes to them. I totally don’t need more bitters, but I feel like I should buy some to say thanks! Even though you can follow the link to the real recipe, I’m going to write mine up because I halved the original. Which I encourage you to do if you haven’t tried a shrub before. Just to see if you like it before you make a whole bunch. I also noticed this written recipe differed from the one they posted on Instagram, which is the one I used.

BLACKBERRY & LIME SHRUB

1 cup fresh blackberries

peels of 1 1/2 limes

1/2 cup of fine bakers sugar

2-3 ounces apple cider vinegar

I used a heaping cup of berries.

Use a veggie peeler to peel one and a half limes. Or you could add peels of two limes if that’s easier.

You don’t have to use baker’s sugar, you can use regular white sugar. I like bakers because it’s fine and dissolves easily. Never sub powdered sugar for drinks, it contains cornstarch. 

Blackberries will eventually macerate on their own, but they seem to have tougher skins than strawberries (which do great) so I like to mash them up. I used a cocktail muddler to smoosh the juice out of the berries.

After chilling overnight it will pretty much look the same. All the sugar should be dissolved and the mixture will be syrupy.

In batches, strain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer. Discard the solids.

I found mine to be fairly fussy and hard to strain. Use a spoon to press all the liquid out of the mixture and make sure to work in small batches to get the most syrup. 

Both times I made this I had 4oz of blackberry lime syrup.

Vinegar! I would start with adding half your syrup amount. Since we have 4 ounces of syrup, add 2 ounces of vinegar and taste. I found 2 ounces to be a little light. It still tasted thicker and sweeter than it should, so I upped it to 3 ounces vinegar total.

I would say, whatever amount of syrup you end up with, add 3/4 that amount in vinegar. This will stay good for over a year in the fridge.

We are using the Earl Grey Citron bitters I made here! If you haven’t made this, sub in any lemon bitters you like.

BLACKBERRY & LIME SHRUB SOUR

2oz Whiskey (I liked Rye)

1oz Fresh lemon juice

1oz Blackberry Lime Shrub

2 dashes Earl Grey Citron bitters

Add a large ice cube to a rocks glass.

Mix everything in a shaker and pour over ice. Garnish with berries if you like.