Shrub - a capital drink.

[Black Hand]

Shrub
Wash 3 oranges, 3 lemons and 3 limes (I scrub them with dish-soap and rinse well). Cut in half (along the equator), squeeze/juice (a fork works well) into a container (I use a lidded pot) and add rinds to the juice. Pour 1 bottle of white rum (I use Mr Boston, 1 liter) over the rinds/juice and allow to soak in the refrigerator for several days (I've done 3-5 days, but you could go longer). Re-squeeze all the rinds and discard. To the remaining juice/rum/pulp, add water and sugar to taste (my version adds 3 cups water and 3/4 -1 cup sugar), stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and pour into bottles. Store in the fridge and enjoy. The shrub tastes even better if it has a few weeks (or more) to age, but is delicious immediately.

Vary citrus additions (and amounts) to the recipe according to your taste - Depending on the quality/season of the fruit, I've added an extra orange or lemon to improve the flavor. Raspberries (frozen) have been used as well.

 

[Sicilian Hunter]

Shrub
Wash 3 oranges, 3 lemons and 3 limes (I scrub them with dish-soap and rinse well). Cut in half (along the equator), squeeze/juice (a fork works well) into a container (I use a lidded pot) and add rinds to the juice. Pour 1 bottle of white rum (I use Mr Boston, 1 liter) over the rinds/juice and allow to soak in the refrigerator for several days (I've done 3-5 days, but you could go longer). Re-squeeze all the rinds and discard. To the remaining juice/rum/pulp, add water and sugar to taste (my version adds 3 cups water and 3/4 -1 cup sugar), stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and pour into bottles. Store in the fridge and enjoy. The shrub tastes even better if it has a few weeks (or more) to age, but is delicious immediately.

Vary citrus additions (and amounts) to the recipe according to your taste - Depending on the quality/season of the fruit, I've added an extra orange or lemon to improve the flavor. Raspberries (frozen) have been used as well.

Hand,
Many thanks!!
I will be putting that recipe to good use by the weekend!!!
The Sicilian

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks Black Hand. I'll have to add that to my Bounce and other homemade recipes for a little nip now and then.

 

[nhmoose]

Sounds very tasty! Thanks for the recipe.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Okay Black Hand. I had some rum in the pantry and decided to make up a batch. I didn't do a full batch but reduce everything by a third. I'll check it out in a day or two.

 

[Black Hand]

Okay Black Hand. I had some rum in the pantry and decided to make up a batch. I didn't do a full batch but reduce everything by a third. I'll check it out in a day or two.

Enjoy!
I have yet to have a person say "This tastes awful..."
The Rum I use is inexpensive white Rum. The aged and spiced Rums (Like Cpt. Morgan) are better drunk alone and shouldn't be used for this application.

 

[Nyckname]

Must prevent scurvy!

 

[Black Hand]

Must prevent scurvy!

Must be why we drink so much of it...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Must prevent scurvy!

Indeed, a most excellent antiscorbutic libation!

LD

 

[Carbon 6]

 

[Black Hand]

Okay Black Hand. I had some rum in the pantry and decided to make up a batch. I didn't do a full batch but reduce everything by a third. I'll check it out in a day or two.

Jake,
How did your batch taste?

 

[45man]

I go full and make from the start. Not a whole lot but can get 2 gallons of 100 proof. Fruit is better but sugar wash is OK. Toss in chard oak or lemon rinds. Flavor with so much. We can make 200 gallons of wine or beer a year for everyone in the house but not a drop of booze, go to heck. The law needs changed. It is only tax money. I make beer and wine when I get fruit. Just a step away from a real drink. WV has a SIN tax so I buy out of state. The store in Maryland is open 365 days a year, even on Sunday and a bottle of Scotch is cheaper then the lowest priced vodka here. Joe smokes and when I go to his house he will smoke a pack and I will stink. He was a drunk and quit but the smokes will kill him. The first thing he does when we come from stands to hunt is to light up. I could buy a mansion with what he spends on cansor sticks but he complains about my drinking. He wants me to die so he can get my guns cheap but Carol knows the value of each. My muzzle loaders are out of sight.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Black Hand, I strained it and added sugar to taste. At that point it was only okay, but after a week or two in the refrigerator it has turned into a nice liquor. I like it. I ended up with a little over a pint from that batch and will do it again. I did not add any water to it. It would make a nice drink to take along on a trek or campout to sip around a campfire. I haven't tasted it for a week or so and may have to try a little nip tonight.

 

[Black Hand]

Black Hand, I strained it and added sugar to taste. At that point it was only okay, but after a week or two in the refrigerator it has turned into a nice liquor. I like it. I ended up with a little over a pint from that batch and will do it again. I did not add any water to it. It would make a nice drink to take along on a trek or campout to sip around a campfire. I haven't tasted it for a week or so and may have to try a little nip tonight.

The water is what makes the difference between a liquor and a refreshing drink. Try with the water next time....

My understanding is they did carry the concentrate to rendezvous and added water on site. You have made concentrate.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Ah, Shrub! The citrus shrubs will have better flavor if you zest the lemons and oranges. The white pith imparts a bitter taste. What is wonderful about Shrub is the variations and they are all traditional.

My version of Shrub uses lemons (zest and juice), cheap brandy or rum, sugar and water.

The longer you let the flavors infuse, the better it tastes. I have some that is now over a year infusing. I will bring it to the Trade Faire at Fort de Chartres. Mine is much better than the version offered in the Tavern.

Substitute rum or brandy for the vinegar in the raspberry shrub and you get a nice refreshing drink too. It is interesting that most recipes for raspberry or blackberry or strawberry shrub use vinegar instead of m or brandy. In this case it is a lot like switchel and a very refreshing drink in the summer. A better drink than gator ade!

 

[Sicilian Hunter]

I modified the recipe a bit:
- Zested 3 each (washed) lemons, limes and oranges
- juiced and added to the zests
- added 750ml white rum to juice/zest mixture
- put in refrigerator
Will report back in 3 to 5 days with results after straining and taste test

 

[Black Hand]

I modified the recipe a bit:
- Zested 3 each (washed) lemons, limes and oranges
- juiced and added to the zests
- added 750ml white rum to juice/zest mixture
- put in refrigerator
Will report back in 3 to 5 days with results after straining and taste test

Don't strain - leave the pulp in the Shrub.

 

[Nyckname]

Don't strain - leave the pulp in the Shrub.

Fiber is important!

 

[Sicilian Hunter]

Don't strain - leave the pulp in the Shrub.

Do you mean leave the zest in the mix?

 

[Black Hand]

Do you mean leave the zest in the mix?

When you follow the procedure I gave, the flavor of the zest is imparted to the drink without needing to strain. When I make liquor (such as Limoncello), I use the zest exclusively and extract with pure grain alcohol, but Shrub is a different story....

I can only tell you how I do it and have no control over how you choose to proceed.