Instead, I am discussing a Southern drink I have found to be extremely crisp and refreshing in the hot summer months – shrub! Strange name, I know, but it comes from the Arabic sharab – “to drink” (“Sherbet” and “syrup” also come from this Arabic root).

Shrubs are concentrated fruit-infused vinegar syrups. Historically, shrub makers combined fruit or juice with sugar and vinegar and steeped this mixture for several days or weeks. This syrup was the main way of preserving fruit after it was picked because the sugar and vinegar act as a preservative. This concoction would then be mixed with cool water to create a tart summer beverage.

This drink has been popular in North America since Colonial times, but its roots go back much farther to the Ancient Babylonians, who added date vinegar to water to make it safe to drink, and the Ancient Romans, who mixed vinegar with water to create a beverage called posca. But let’s fast-forward to 15^th-century England. Doctors would prescribe this Vitamin-C-rich concoction to those sick with scurvy, particularly sailors at sea. The British settlers then brought this beverage to our continent, where it was enjoyed mixed with liquor, such as rum, or sparkling wine. Non-alcoholic shrubs also gained popularity during the Temperance movement in the 19^th century. Through that century and into the next, these drinks were so in vogue that many housekeeping manuals contained recipes for them. But home refrigeration dealt the death blow to shrubs, as it replaced vinegar and sugar in preserving fruit.

Today, shrubs are seeing renewed interest as mixers in cocktails. Because this sweet-tart liquid simultaneously quenches thirst, piques the appetite, and stimulates the salivary glands, it is ideal as an aperitif-style cocktail. You will often see it mixed with whiskey or gin, but my favorites are vodka or prosecco (or any bubbly white wine!).

They are also becoming popular as a healthy alternative to sugary sodas and juice. Some experts have claimed that shrubs can lower blood sugar, ease digestion, and decrease cholesterol, although there is not yet definite proof to back up these claims. But I say why not use this reasoning as an excuse to drink more of it?

While you can increasingly find shrubs bottled or at bars, you can also make your own shrubs at home. My favorite fresh fruits for making shrubs are blackberries or raspberries, but blueberries, strawberries, cherries, peaches, plums and other fresh fruits also work. Try whatever is in season!

Here’s the recipe:

• Mix one part fresh fruit with one part granulated sugar in a bowl.

• Cover with a towel rinsed in cold water and leave in the fridge for 48 hours.

• Extract the liquid from the fruit with a sieve.

• Mix this fruit syrup with one part apple cider vinegar (other vinegars work, too, but I find this to be the most tasty and healthy).

• Add club soda and/or your favorite alcoholic beverage for a delicious, cool treat!

Here is another faster method, which I have used most effectively with raspberries:

• Bring 1 part water and 1 part sugar to a boil in a saucepan.

• Once the water concoction is boiling, add one part fruit.

• Once this mixture comes to a boil, let it simmer until most of the liquid evaporates and the raspberries become “tired.”

• Extract the liquid from the fruit with a sieve.

• Mix this fruit syrup with one part apple cider vinegar.

• Add club soda and/or your favorite alcoholic beverage!

These shrub recipes are hard to get wrong, so feel free to experiment! I would love to hear how it turns out for you!