One of my favorite parts of our little urban homestead is our tiny garden. It feels like an absolute luxury to have while living is one of the boroughs of New York City and I’ve been slowly reviving my greenish thumb over the last couple of years. A friend of mine lived here before us and left behind several beautiful rose bushes. Aside from simply enjoying their beauty, I really wanted to find a use for them and, as a fan of specialty cocktails, I decided to make a shrub.
For those not familiar, shrubs were a concoction from colonial days that use sugar and vinegar mixed with seasonal fruit to create a tonic that would last past the growing season. A spoonful would be added to water to create a sweet and tangy beverage that would bring a bit of summer brightness to the cold winter months. The peaking wave of the craft cocktail movement has seen a revival of the old fashioned beverage as a mixer, or as a “mocktail” when it’s combined with a bit of sparkling water.
I spent some time digging around in search of recipes and have found that a 1:1 of vinegar/sugar seemed a good starting point. I opted for apple cider vinegar, as it seemed like it would lend an extra bit of fruitiness to my mixture, and added some raspberries and a split vanilla bean to add some complexity. I have two different varieties of roses, one that has more color and one that has more fragrance, so I mixed them in order to have elements of both. Speaking of roses, this is very important: you need to be certain that your roses are pesticide free! That means no roses from the florist. I know ours are safe because we maintain the yard and don’t spray pesticides. If you can’t get pesticide free roses, you can look for food grade dried petals, though they might not have as strong a scent.
The other step I add that isn’t strictly necessary is that I processed my shrub in jars in a hot water bath canner, to increase it’s longevity (and allow me to gift it to other craft cocktail loving friends). However, because of the high vinegar content, it will keep well in the fridge for about 6 months, possibly longer. In addition to cocktails or just being enjoyed on it’s own, this shrub would also be a lovely addition to some fresh lemonade. Enjoy!
Raspberry Rose Vanilla Shrub
- 2 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups lightly packed fresh rose petals (or 2 cups dried)
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Put raspberries a 32 oz mason jar and mash. Add rose petals and pack down lightly. Add split vanilla bean.
In a medium saucepan, heat vinegar until just boiling. Pour into jar, leaving about 1″ of headspace, adding more vinegar of needed. Cover with a plastic lid. Leave mixture to infuse for 3 days or up to a week.
After 3 days, strain mixture into a medium saucepan. Add sugar and heat until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla extract, if desired. If refrigerating, allow to cool and pour into a glass swingtop bottle. If processing, ladle into sterilized jam jars, cap, and process in a hot water bath for 15 min.