Charentes Shrub

Name: Charentes Shrub
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: David Delaney , Los Angeles

Photo: Stuart Mullenberg

April 13, 2011

An herbaceous beer cocktail that’s worth the effort to make.

This recipe shows how you can creatively combine old and new ingredients—and even beer—for a modern cocktail that would make bartenders like Harry Craddock proud. There’s some prep work involved, and you might have to seek out a few of the ingredients, but it’s worth the effort.

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. rye whiskey
3/4 oz. Earl Grey-infused Pineau des Charentes (Pineau des Charentes is a French aperitif available at well-stocked wine shops)
1/2 oz. rosemary-pineapple shrub
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dashes orange bitters
2 oz. IPA (Sierra Nevada works well)

Glass:Collins
Garnish:pineapple slice and rosemary sprig

Preparation

Pour all ingredients into a shaker, except the IPA. Add ice and shake. Strain into an ice-filled glass, top with IPA and garnish.
Tea-Infused Pineau des CharentesSoak 1 Earl Grey teabag in half a 750 ml. bottle of Pineau for 1 ½ hours.
Rosemary-Pineapple ShrubSlice a small pineapple, place in a jar and cover with cider vinegar. Infuse for 4 days, shaking once a day. Filter through cheesecloth and bring 6 ounces of pineapple vinegar to a boil with 5 ounces of superfine sugar. When sugar dissolves, skim off top layer and add 1 sprig of fresh rosemary. Boil for 10 minutes, remove from heat, filter and cool before bottling.