We have found that for the Brandy there is no need to break out a $250 twenty year old bottle from the liquor cupboard. If anything I would use one of the cheaper bottles available on account of we are going to add quite a lot of flavor to it.
This recipe requires very little work. Here is a recipe list:
½ liter of Brandy
4 Ripe pears (Peeled, halved and core removed)
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Vanilla extract
¼ tsp Almond extract
4 cloves
I start by getting my storage jar ready, give it a good clean. Then it really is as simple as placing all the above ingredients in a seal-able jar and pouring the brandy in as the last ingredient. It is sometimes nice to keep some of the brandy until Christmas so you can taste them side by side. When this is first made, I like to taste it every day, the cinnamon and clove have a tendency to increase in flavor as long as you leave them in the jar, I typically remove mine after 5 to 6 days. After that you are good for the long haul. I would try it again a month later, if you are not getting enough Pear flavor you can add more pear at this point if you need to. Store in a cool, dark place until you are ready to enjoy.
After making the pear infused there was enough brandy left over to have a go at the non-vinegar version of a Shrub. These Shrubs were heavy on the alcohol, typically they used a Rum or Brandy base and flavored with orange. As I had a quantity of Brandy left over from the Pear infused Brandy, I will be using a Brandy base and loosely following a recipe from the 1743 book “English Housewifery by Elizabeth Moxon”.
Here is the original recipe: To make an Orange Shrub, take Seville Oranges when they are full ripe, to three dozen oranges put half a dozen of large lemons, pare them very thin, the thinner the better, squeeze the lemons and oranges together, strain the juice thro’ a hair sieve, to a quart of juice put a pound and a quarter of sugar; about three dozen oranges (if they be good) will make a quart of juice, to every quart of juice put a gallon of Brandy, put it into a barrel with an open bung with all the chippings of your oranges, and bung it up close;when it’s fine, bottle it.
I have done my best to break this down into a more modern recipe and I don’t intend to use a gallon of Brandy on this go round, maybe next year.
You will need:
1 liter Brandy (again any type will do) I usually use what is the best price.
The peel of 3 Oranges, I use a peeler and leave the white pith behind.
The peel of 1 Lemon, again use a peeler.
145 g of sugar, this time I just used regular white sugar.
First off, I put the sugar into a large jar and poured the Brandy in as well, I left this for a day or two swirling the jar a couple of times a day until the sugar dissolved. Then I added the peel from my Oranges and Lemon and squeezed the juice out afterwards and also added the juice to the jar as well. This year for an extra experiment, I split the Brandy into two equal parts and separate jars, one I will leave as is. The second jar is going to have some oak cubes added to it for flavour. Oak cubes are usually found at home brew beer stores and usually in a variety of options, I will be adding medium toasted American oak cubes. I am hoping that this will simulate the flavour of being stored in a barrel. Then it is a case of store in a cool dry place for a couple of months until it is ready to drink. I will usually have a taste once every couple of weeks, just to see how things are doing.
If you decide to try either of these drinks, remember I love seeing what you have come up with and what you thought of them. I like to try at least one new variation every year. If you like hearing about historical drinks be sure to sign up for our newsletter and give us a follow on social media. We are the only False Ox around. Coming up next month a history of punch.
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Ingredient list:
600 ml Organic Apple cider vinegar
600 ml Apple Juice
3 Apples
1 Cinnamon Stick
60 g Ginger
200 g Sugar
500 g Cranberries
Method: Start by putting the Apple juice in a saucepan and starting to heat, you are not looking to boil the apple juice just dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar is all dissolved I keep it on a low heat while I chop peel and chop the apples and chop the ginger and put in the saucepan followed by the Cranberries, and Cinnamon stick. I keep them on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Then remove from the burner and once cool I add the Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. I usually let it sit for 12 - 24 hours and let the fruit steep. Then strain and store in a bottle in the fridge. I have tried this cocktail just with sparkling water and also in cocktails with Vodka, Gin and Rye.
Don’t be afraid to try different fruits as well the possibilities are endless, if it hasn’t turned out as expected you can still tweak it. If it is to vinegar forward just add a touch more sugar or fruit, too sweet, add a little more vinegar. We will visit making a Shrub with cold process in the new year. If you have a go making your own Shrub send us a picture and tell us what you did, we love seeing what you come up with.
Until the next time, cheers.
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Switchel originates from the Caribbean in the late 1600’s and spread from there through to America and by the early 1800’s it was seen as a very American drink. It started off as a field and farm workers drink, water was not always trusted as safe to drink, so they would add vinegar to kill the germs, ginger to settle the stomach and a sweetener to make it taste nice. From there it became a popular drink with sailors as it helped to prevent scurvy, also it would make impure water more palatable to drink on long voyages. It eventually became common place in many taverns, farmhouses and private homes.
During the war of 1812 in a naval battle between HMS Guerriere and the USS Constitution. British Captain James Dacres jokingly called for Switchel to be prepared, for the Americans he had planned on capturing. The Americans led by Captain Isaac Hull, had a crew refreshed and energized by Switchel were able to defeat and capture the British instead. The British sailors were known to drink Switchel when they could as it helped to prevent Scurvy.
In the 1800's representatives in congress for a number of years would have Switchel made in large quantities daily it was so popular it was made a duty for an official to make it. It was made of Molasses, Ginger and pure water from the Capitol Spring and would have been flavoured with the best Jamaican rum. Many Gallons were consumed daily and whenever there was exciting debate the supply had to be renewed again and again.
Switchels grew in popularity from the fields and sailing ships of the 1700’s to Taverns and private homes in the early 1900’s. The drink was extremely popular with students of Harvard, where they would mix it with Rum. “Switchel all round!” was the starting war cry of many a parade and March, where Switchel would be offered as both incentive and reward.
The growing nineteenth-century temperance movement saw non-alcoholic switchel, typically made with vinegar, water and molasses as an excellent alternative to alcoholic drinks.
In the early nineteenth century, it was often recommended by Physicians to avoid ice water, it was difficult to provide and keep on hand and they believed to much would cause indigestion and other more serious problems. Some early switchels did not contain ginger and it was possible to over indulge on a non-alcoholic switchel, they were so refreshing, if you drank too much they would cause bloating and indigestion. To prevent this ginger was added, which has a calming effect on upset stomachs.
Switchel has been in and out of the media for over 160 years, even in the mid 1800's there were articles that referred to switchel as old fashioned summer drink, extremely popular in the olden days and my personal favorite ancient thirst killer.
There were also many references to how refreshing they are. From very welcome to the hands in the field, one article from the early 1900's and the early days of soda claims a glass of ice cream soda about a hundredth part as good as a switchel. I would like the person who wrote this next comment from 1921 to try our switchels and see how they compare. "As a thirst quencher it is unexcelled. After mixing a switchel, you would be conscious of a grand and glorious feeling that no drink out of a soda fountain or a bottle can ever give. A drink unsurpassed for quenching thirst and giving the hard worker new strength and a refreshed attitude towards his job and life in general." Well, I will take take 10 cases then!
What helped Switchel become so popular in countries that could have extremes of heat was in fact the vinegar. Pre-refrigeration lots of foods were preserved using vinegar which meant many people accustomed to the taste and it would have been readily available. Vinegar has long been held by people to have medicinal qualities it was often used as a treatment to bring down fevers and was believed to have cooling properties when diluted with other liquids.
Switchel was promoted as a drink with restorative properties, in the 1800’s in most Navy’s it was recommended that on long voyages, ships carry Vinegar, Molasses and Ginger. These ingredients diluted with water should be served to sailors once or twice a day, while at sea.
Switchels have been a staple for around two and half centuries, reached a peak of popularity in the 1900’s especially around the temperance movement as these drinks were known to cheer but not inebriate. The non-alcoholic option for drinks is often something that is seen as a kids drink, fruit juice, pop etc. Switchels and Shrubs fill this void with a drink that is not overly sweet and has an interesting flavor profile. We have included a recipe from 1913 for you to try, but, it is often said the only way to make a switchel is to make it. So go ahead and have a go making this ancient thirst killer for yourself and never be thirsty again!
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So here we go. Shrubs were the first drink we started making at False Ox. Vinegars were discovered, as stories go, by accident when wine was left for too long in open containers. The word vinegar is from Old French and means sour wine. Evidence of wine making can be found as far back as c. 7000 BCE, with the oldest steady production winery been found in Armenia around c. 4100 BCE. The earliest evidence of vinegar is c. 5000 BCE from Babylonia and has been used by every culture and civilization since.
As early as 2300 BCE, in the village that became Babylon, they were using the fruit of the date palm to make wine and vinegar, that was then used as a preservative or pickling agent. Over a thousand years later, vinegar was being made from Rome to China. In Rome, it was made from wine, dates, figs and other fruits and typically served in bowls for dunking bread. In China, it was made from rice and used mainly in cooking.
Through its many names, vinegar based drinks have been used for centuries.
In Ancient Greece, Oxycrate (which was a mixture of water, vinegar and honey) was often prescribed by Hippocrates himself to treat wounds, sores and respiratory problems.
In Ancient Rome, Posca (known as Oxos in Ancient Greece) was made mixing vinegar with water and flavouring herbs. This drink was seen as being of a major benefit to the Roman Army. Posca was believed to give strength, while wine would make you drunk (Posca forlem, vinum erbium facit). As a drink it provided calories and was an antiscorbutic, which would help to prevent scurvy. The superiority of the Roman army was attributed to three things 1) The money they had through taxes, 2) The rigorous training and 3) The quality of their food and drink (Salted Pork, Cheese and Posca). The same drink was used by the Byzantine army and called Phouska.
Rice vinegar was regularly consumed by Samurai warriors. They drank it to relieve fatigue and for an energy boost.
Sekanjabin was a popular drink in Persia made with honey and vinegar, usually served in the summer seasoned with mint.
The word Shrub is derived from the Arabic word Sharab meaning “to drink”. They originated a few thousand years ago as a byproduct of preservation techniques. The fruits would be stored in vinegar and sugar which would draw out the flavours from the fruit. Once all the fruit had been consumed, they were left with this wonderfully rich, tart, yet sweet liquid that was packed with flavour and very little went to waste back then. They would dilute this “shrub” with water to make it drinkable and were rewarded with a drink more thirst quenching than water that would stay fresher for longer.
Another type of Shrub was popular in England and it started off as a medicinal cordial in the 15th century. Medicinal cordials were usually based in alcohol which had various herbs and spices steeped in it. They were called distilled cordial waters and they were used as alcoholic medicines, used in small doses to invigorate and revitalize the heart, body and spirit as well as cure diseases. They eventually evolved into liqueurs.
Around the late 1600’s, smugglers trying to avoid paying import taxes for goods shipped from mainland Europe, would sink barrels of spirits offshore to be collected after the inspectors had left. Sometimes sea water would seep into the barrel and spoil the spirits. They would make a shrub out of the spirits to mask the flavour of the sea water. The English and Australian Cookery Book called for almonds, cloves, cassia, and the peel of oranges, "infused in the best rum," with the addition of a thread of ambergris and vanilla. "Good shrub is very delicious, and were it fashionable it would obtain rank as a liqueur.” In fact, in 1728 an act was passed declaring shrub liable to the same duties as distilled spirits.
1743 - English Housewifery by Elizabeth Moxon. "To make an Orange Shrub, take Seville oranges when they are full ripe, to three dozen oranges put half a dozen of large lemons, pare them very thin, the thinner the better, squeeze the lemons and oranges together, strain the juice thro ' a hair sieve, to a quart of juice put a pound and a quarter of sugar; about three dozen oranges (if they be good) will make a quart of juice, to every quart of juice put a gallon of Brandy, put it into a barrel with an open bung with all the chippings of your oranges, and bung it up close; when it is fine, bottle it."
1747 - First use of the word Shrub in the English dictionary "any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar and other ingredients often alcohol."
Pre-1800 - Benjamin Franklin, courtesy of the American Philosophical Society. Orange Shrub. "To a gallon of Rum add two Quarts of Orange juice and two pounds of sugar- dissolve the sugar in the juice before you mix it with the Rum - Put all together in a cask and shake it well - let it stand for three or four weeks and it will be very fine and fit for bottling when you have bottled off the fine pass the thick thro a philtring paper put into a funnel -not a drop may be lost. To obtain the flavour of the orange peel pare a few oranges and put it in Rum for 12 hours - and put that Rum into the cask with the other (For punch thought better without peel)."
1808 -John Davies. The Innkeeper and Butlers guide, or, a Directory in the making and managing of British Wines. "Shrub Cordial - Take two quarts of Brandy and put into a large bottle and put into that the juice of five lemons, the peels of two lemons plus half a nutmeg. Stop it up and let it stand for 3 days and then add to it, three pints of white wine, a pound and a half of sugar: mix it and strain it twice through a flannel and bottle it up. Tis a pretty wine and a cordial, for each tot of Rum add a double tot of Shrub. At the end of the evening everyone was cordial."
1808 - The New London Family Cookbook (1808) by Duncan MacDonald claimed that “raspberry vinegar…is one of the most useful preparations that can be in the house, not only as it affords a refreshing beverage, but being of singular efficacy in complaints of the chest."
1832 - Benjamin Morrel’s book A Narrative of Four Voyages: To the South Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Antarctic Ocean. From the Year 1822 to 1831 …
“ They should also be carefully furnished with a due quantity vinegar which should be given to the men with their food three times day besides a spoonful each every morning for rinsing their mouths or molasses and water with a little vinegar in it should be out to them once or twice a day while at sea”
“ One word more respecting vinegar The water which we drink at sea is always more or less impure This is readily corrected by a little vinegar which also tends to promote that salutary perspiration which in hot weather prevents putrid fevers and inflammations of various kinds I would also recommend that every vessel be supplied with a quantity of shrub for the use of the seamen after hard fatigue instead of ardent spirits It will have a much better effect as the vegetable acid it contains gives it a superior efficacy against putrefaction. These two highly important articles vinegar and shrub would be found to be great preventives against the scurvy on board of vessels which are engaged in long voyages “
1835 - Richard Cook's, Oxford Nightcaps - "Oxford Punch - Extract the juice from the rind of three lemons, by rubbing loaf sugar on it. The peeling of two Seville Oranges and to lemons, cut extremely thin. The juice of four Seville Oranges and ten Lemons. Six glasses of calves-feet jelly in a liquid state. The above to be put into a jug, and stirred well together. Pour two quarts of boiling water on the mixture cover the jug closely and place it near the fire for quarter of an hour. Then strain the liquid through a sieve into a punch bowl or jug, sweeten it with a bottle of capillaire, and add half a pint of white wine, a pint of French Brandy, a pint of Jamaican Rum and a bottle of Orange Shrub; the mixture to be stirred as the spirits are poured in. If not sufficiently sweet, add loaf sugar gradually in small quantities, or a spoonful or two of capillaire. To be served either hot or cold."
1838 - Lydia Maria Child, author of The American Frugal Housewife, Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy (1838), deliberately mentioned raspberry shrub as a frugal alternative to wine that homemakers would be wise to adopt:
“Raspberry shrub mixed with water is a pure, delicious drink for summer; and in a country where raspberries are abundant, it is good economy to make it answer instead of Port and Catalonia wine.” (Childs 82)
Late 1800's - Shrub fell out of favour in England primarily because of the Gin craze and gin being so cheap, Shrub remained a Christmas drink mixed with raisins, honey, lemon, sherry, rum also known as nectar and it was a vital ingredient in, the punches.
Shrubs continued to be popular in North America until the early 20th century. When the arrival of the refrigerator meant people did not need to preserve foods as much anymore, they eventually fell out of fashion.
As you can see, Shrubs have long been a part of our drinking history. With the fact that most modern cocktail mixers are overly sweet and syrupy, it is time to revisit our past and say cheers to a healthier drink.