WASHINGTON 鈥� At 10 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, Charlie Berkinshaw met me at a crowded coffee shop in D.C.鈥檚 Shaw neighborhood wearing a blue shirt that said 鈥淒rink More Shrubs.鈥�
He set down a cooler packed full of bottles and immediately got to work mixing the liquids in thimble-sized cups.
鈥淭his is our take on a painkiller,鈥� he says, handing me a serving of light orange liquid with ground nutmeg on top. 鈥淲ell, we call it a skinny painkiller.鈥�
A painkiller is typically made with pineapple juice, orange juice, coconut cream and nutmeg. (Those familiar with the drink also know that it comes with a heavy pour of rum, but seeing as how it was 10 a.m., that ingredient was purposefully omitted.)
Berkinshaw鈥檚 drink, however, used a pineapple turmeric shrub in place of pineapple juice and coconut water in place of coconut cream.
鈥淭he result is a really bright, refreshing, healthy drink that鈥檚 100 calories a drink instead of 450 鈥� so you can have four of them,鈥� he says.
The orange juice and coconut juice don鈥檛 have much flavor; the key ingredient that made the cocktail bright and biting was Berkinshaw鈥檚 shrub.
Not familiar with shrubs? It鈥檚 time to become familiar. A shrub is a vinegar-based fruit syrup. It dates back to colonial times when vinegar was used to preserve fruit before refrigeration. And similar to other dated culinary products and practices, it鈥檚 making a comeback.
Shrubs can be used to make a variety of things 鈥� from salad dressings to cocktails.
Berkinshaw, who is the founder of , first started making the vinegar-fruit syrup when his wife was pregnant. Tired of water and juice, she wanted a drink that 鈥渉ad the complexity of a cocktail鈥� but without the alcohol, sugars and preservatives.
A crabapple shrub mixed with seltzer water did the trick.
Just because shrubs are vinegar based does not mean they taste strongly of vinegar. In fact, many are a balance of sweet and tangy.
鈥淲hat I love about vinegar is that it has this really unique funkiness to it 鈥� it鈥檚 savory, it鈥檚 acidic,鈥� says Berkinshaw, an Arlington, Virginia resident.
鈥淥ur shrubs are made with real ingredients, they don鈥檛 have a lot of sugar, but they have this complexity that鈥檚 so much more exciting that juice or soda or water.鈥�
Berkinshaw鈥檚 homemade shrubs were such a hit that in November 2014 he launched his own business. Now, Element Shrub makes five different varieties, including blueberry rosemary, chai pear, honeydew jalape帽o, lemon mint and pineapple turmeric.
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Berkinshaw pushed another small cup across the table. This time, it was his honeydew jalape帽o shrub topped with seltzer. The sweetness of the honeydew lingered only for a second before it was chased by the heat of the pepper.
鈥淲ith tequila or mescal, this makes an awesome margarita,鈥� Berkinshaw says.
The blueberry rosemary shrub? Try it with gin. In the winter months, Berkinshaw likes to mix his chai pear shrub with bourbon.
鈥淭he lemon mint with fresh cucumber juice is also really nice 鈥� plus or minus gin, depending on the time of day,鈥� he adds.
Berkinshaw鈥檚 recipe ideas for shrubs don鈥檛 stop at the bar. He uses them to deglaze pans of meat and to coat roasted vegetables. He even pours shrubs on vanilla ice cream.
鈥淲e did a take on a caprese salad with fresh burrata, almond pesto, some fresh cherries, some heirloom tomatoes, and then we drizzled the chai pear [shrub] on top. It was awesome,鈥� Berkinshaw says. 鈥淲e encourage people to be creative with their shrub.鈥�
Shrubs are difficult to find in conventional stores and those that do carry shrubs sell single-flavor varieties, which are much different from Berkinshaw鈥檚 mixtures of fruits, herbs and spices.
In addition to making, bottling and selling his product, Berkinshaw says a major part of his job is introducing customers to shrubs.
鈥淚 knew going into this that one of my jobs would be educating people on what shrubs are, how to use them and how much fun it can be.鈥�
He makes roughly 1,500 bottles of shrubs every six weeks and sells them at a number of local businesses, including Yes! Organic Market, Glen鈥檚 Garden Market, One Eight Distillery and Society Fair. In the future, he hopes to add a shrub soda to his line, and he’s currently working on partnerships with other local startups to repurpose food waste into a product.
Berkinshaw finds that the customers who are familiar with shrubs are well-versed in cocktail recipes or are fans of drinking apple cider vinegar for its health benefits. ( show that apple cider vinegar isn鈥檛 just a folk remedy 鈥� it can help with blood-sugar regulation and digestion.)
But Berkinshaw doesn鈥檛 harp on vinegar鈥檚 health benefits, other than to say that shrubs are a more natural alternative to sugary drinks and mixers.
鈥淓ven though you鈥檙e having a cocktail, it鈥檚 a much healthier version,鈥� he says.听鈥淚f you can get your apple cider vinegar and in one place and it tastes really good, and you can say you鈥檙e drinking a pi帽a colada and can get all of that, then why not, right?”
has a number of recipes for mocktails and cocktails. Here are a few:听
听Skinny Painkiller
- 1 1/2 ounce听coconut water
- 1/2 ounce Pineapple Turmeric听Element [Shrub]
- 1/2 ounce fresh听orange juice
- 1 ounce rum
- Freshly grated nutmeg
Element听Sparkler
- 1/2 ounce Lemon Mint Element [Shrub]
- 1/2 ounce fresh cucumber juice
- 3-4 ounces sparkling water
- Serve on Ice
Element Toddy
- 1 ounce Chai Pear Element [Shrub]
- 2 ounces hot water
- 1 ounce whisky
- Serve in a mug
- Add burnt orange peel for extra flair and flavor
