Rhubarb Cocktails

While rhubarb certainly isn’t going to abduct you anytime soon or appear in a Will Smith movie, it is almost an alien to the world of bartending. One of the greatest things about working at the bar is the relationship we as bartenders have with the kitchen. When we don’t have time to do it ourselves, our executive chef, Dax, has a habit of whipping up a cool new syrup or ordering us some newly available produce for us to play with. This ongoing source of cocktail inspiration has lead to any number of special in-house creations, all of which expand a classic approach to cocktail through the use of innovative ingredients. Last week, Dax handed me a list of seasonal items that our produce company had, and there it was a piece of produce that reminded me of my great grandmother, rhubarb. It might sound like a strange cocktail component, but Robert’s experience with rhubarb infusions in the past and my short attention span quickly led us down the path of drink experimentation.

Most people who have had rhubarb remember it in much the same way I do, an integral part to Granny’s rhubarb and strawberry pie. Rhubarb is a red stalk of a vegetable which resembles its very distantly related cousin, celery. The top of the red stalk splits into duck’s foot pattern of ribs that support a large green leaf. The leaf of the rhubarb is toxic; it contains oxalic acid, a corrosive and nephrotoxic acid. It is for this reason that you will never see a stalk of rhubarb with the leaf still attached, unless of course you have grown it yourself. But have no fear you would have to consume 5 kg of leaves before you felt the toxic effects, and because the leaves are one of the more sour substances known to man my cocktail assassin plot is really not going to work the next time someone orders an apple tini.

Historically, rhubarb is an Asian plant used primarily for medicinal purposes, it is believed that the Chinese were growing rhubarb as much as 5000 years ago. For most of the plant’s history, it was used as a medicine to cure ills ranging from battle wounds to male impotence. This heirloom variety of rhubarb is still grown along the banks of the Volga and in other parts of Asia. So, rhubarb spent most of its history as a medicine being used only in teas and sour mashes until the 18^th century when Europeans began to mix it with sugar.

Rhubarb is very bitter and almost unpalatable in its raw form, unless of course you are a fan of something like Campari and like to start off with a classic cocktail like the Negroni. Early common place pairings were of course strawberry, but also pears, apples and sugar cane. Anything and everything sweet was used to counter act the bitterness inherent in the plant. Ironically, it is that same bitterness that chefs have tried to cover up for centuries that we find so appealing about the rhubarb.

As is our custom when we get new, seasonal ingredients, we like to come up with 3 different cocktails to showcase their various facets. The challenge we set for ourselves is to use the ingredient in 3 different ways in original cocktails, and if we find inspiration in a classic we try to do more than just twist an existing recipe. Forgive the names; I have given up on cutely naming drinks.

The Rhubarb Cocktail #1 was the first Rhubarb inspired cocktail we came up with, it might be my favorite of the Rhubarb cocktails.

Rhubarb Cocktail #1

1 1/2 oz Flor de Cana White Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2-3/4 oz Caramel Syrup
1 Dash Fee Brother’s Aromatic Bitters
1/4 Stalk of Diced Rhubarb

Muddle the rhubarb and caramel syrup in the bottom of a pint glass. Add the bitters lime juice, Flor de Cana and ice; shake and strain in to a cocktail glass. Cut a fresh twist of orange over the glass so that the oils mist over the drink and garnish with the twist.

This use of Rhubarb shows how you can use the stalk as a fresh ingredient. It is the most bitter application of Rhubarb, but it adds a fresh taste with a great mouth feel. The most important thing to remember about this drink is the relationship between the rhubarb and the sugar. You have to use some sweetness in this application because the fresh Rhubarb’s bitterness will be very over powering otherwise. However, rhubarb is an organic object that is not universally bitter. Some stalks of rhubarb are more bitter than others and therefore you have to change the sweet accordingly. I have found that it is a good idea to add less sugar, mash the sugar and rhubarb, taste and then add more if needed.

The funny thing about this drink is that depending on how high up the stalk you cut the pinker or green the drink becomes. If you cut from low on the stalk where the skin is the reddest the drink will be a bright pink or ruby red. If you cut from high on the stalk the drink will be a brown or green color. Side by side comparisons show that regardless of the color the drink will generally taste the same, so don’t worry too much if it looks different the second time you make one.

The Rhubarb Cocktail #2 takes the Rhubarb a step further by introducing an additional herbal element. It is also a great example of preserving the rhubarb past its growing season in the form of a syrup.

Rhubarb Cocktail #2

1 1/2 oz No. 209 Gin
3/4 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Rhubarb Syrup
8 Mint Leaves

Combine all ingredients in a pint glass, add ice and shake very hard. Strain through a hawthorn strainer and a fine mesh strainer into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.

#2 uses the bitterness of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the sugar in a nice one-two combination punch in the syrup. This is a great light and fresh summer cocktail. The fine mesh strainer is a must here to clean up all of the pulverized pieces of mint. Once again the mint leaf count is only a guide. You do not want the mint to take over the drink so I would start out with less leaves until you can you identify the strength of your mint, which can at times be extremely diverse.

This next one might have been the first of the Rhubarb cocktails we thought of but in the 4 days it took to infuse the gin we came up with #1 and #2.

Rhubarb Cocktail #3

2oz of Rhubarb infused Gin
1oz Vya Dry Vermouth
2 Dashes of Fee Brother’s Peach Bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a pint glass add ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass, cut a fresh orange twist over the glass and garnish with the twist.

This is of course a Rhubarb Martini; it is one of those few times you can call a drink a Martini and not bastardize the name. I think the peach bitters work great here and the pinkish color of the drink looks almost artificial. The rhubarb also helps to create an almost apertify bitter cocktail, but in a manner that is new and refreshingly different. Robert was excited about this infusion because he missed a similar gin infusion made by North Shore Distillery in Chicago when he moved back to Texas. Their infusion is done with one of his favorite micro-distilled spirits, North Shore Gin No.6, fresh rhubarb, ginger. Ours is a bit simpler, but we liked the result anyway.

These are of course only the beginning of an endless list of possibilities. You may find that you need to move with alien-like speed, however, if you want to mix with rhubarb as it has one of the shortest growing sessions of any available produce. Or, if you are in the area, you could always just come on over to the bar and have us mix on up for you. I’m just not all that sure that Granny would approve.