Mandarin Evergreen Shrub Martini

In my Rooted Medicine Circle course, I saw a recipe for a Mandarin Evergreen Shrub and knew I had to make it.  Our mandarins (or maybe they’re just tangerines?), were so ripe they were falling off the tree.  We had already dried and froze a bunch of them and since I’m always trying to use what we have, and let nothing go to waste, this seemed perfect.

What’s a shrub, you ask?  Sometimes they are referred to as ‘drinking vinegars’ and are typically made with fruit, a sweetener like sugar or honey and vinegar. Herbs and spices can also be added to create more interesting and complex flavors.  Once you’ve put all of the ingredients into a jar, you let it sit in a cool dark place for 3 days to 2 weeks, depending on the intensity of flavor you’re going for. 

This is a great way to get the benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar.  You can simply add some water to a bit of the finished shrub or make something fun with it- like a cocktail- which is exactly what I did. 

Here’s the recipe I followed for Mandarin Evergreen Shrub from Herbalist Rosalee de la Foret:

https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/mandarin-shrub-recipe.html

Straining the shrub

I strained mine after 10 days because the flavors were already pretty intense.  I then went to work to come up with a suitable cocktail with this shrub. After a few different combinations, I settled on a gin based Mandarin Evergreen Shrub Martini.  Here’s my cocktail recipe:

Mandarin Evergreen Martini

à      4 oz. Gin

à      2 oz Mandarin Evergreen Shrub

à      1 oz Dry Vermouth

à      4 oz (or more) Sparkling water

To make the cocktail, add everything but the water to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Gently stir (I heard that gin doesn’t like to be shaken) and pour into a martini glass and top with sparkling water.  If you want to get fancy, add a twist of orange rind. 

Seriously delicious and somewhat healthy.  I’d love to know how you liked this recipe.  Cheers!