Rhubarb & Rye? Yes, Please
I am obsessed with rhubarb. Said no one ever. And yet, here I am. I saw some at a farmer’s market (I was masked up and kept my distance) a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. The quirky thing is, I’ve never tasted it before – weird, right? I know.
Anyhoots, as I’m new to the rhubarb game, I didn’t realize that it has a very, very short life in my local markets. In the blink of an eye, it wasn’t being sold. Thankfully, my mother was out shopping and asked if the store had some and they did! In the back ☹ Rhubarb gets no love! It’s also kind of pricey, for produce that is. Not knowing if I would like it – she doesn’t eat rhubarb either – she bought a half pound stalk of this deliciousness.
Mixologist at work
I couldn’t wait to start crafting in my lab. The only thing I remember is that you can not eat rhubarb raw. So, I knew I had to cook it but beyond that I was wide open. A syrup or a shrub? A tincture or bitters? I decided to go with a syrup – I had more success with making syrups and I would know if I wanted to commit to this vegetable for cocktails.
When I tell you I put my foot in this syrup. Whew, chile. I mean. It is delicious and it hasn’t even been in a drink yet. I cut up the stalk, added water and cooked it for about 20 minutes. Now I make cocktails like a cook – I eyeball things. And while I own two sets of measuring cups, when I’m cooking, I find I do better when I just have the general bones of something and go with it my way. For those that need explicit instructions, see the end of the post. After straining the pulp, I was left with a pretty pink liquid that I added some sugar too. Now here is the thing, I purposely used a light hand on the sugar because I wanted to taste the rhubarb – it is tart by the way. Not pucker you lips like a lemon tartness, but tart nonetheless. The sugar brings the flavor forward without making it overly sweet.
I decided to use Templeton Rye for my cocktail. I wanted the spiciness of the Rye + the tartness of the syrup = YUMMY GOODNESS. This is AMAZING. I want you to try it. I need more rhubarb; I could drink this every evening. It is light enough to drink all summer long.
I have a limited amount of syrup and I can’t find more rhubarb. Can I really have found this delicious cocktail and now can’t make more once I run out of syrup? I am sad! The injustice of it all.
