Rhubarb syrup lends a sweet, tart and a vibrant pink hue to cocktails, mixed drinks and non-alcoholic cocktails. Here’s how to make it and use it in cocktails.
How to Make Rhubarb Syrup – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable with long reddish stalks and large leaves. Its sour taste means it’s often cooked and sweetened to make it palatable. If you plan on growing it in your cocktail garden, make sure you don’t eat the leaves as they are poisonous.
The rhubarb syrup is in essence a flavoured simple syrup cooked down with rhubarb. It’s easy to make and once you’ve strained the liquid, you can eat the compote, spread it on toast, use it in desserts or simply enjoy it with ice cream. In other words, nothing goes to waste including the by-product of this cocktail project. The syrup can be flavoured with citrus and spices such as with grated lemon zest, ginger, cardamom and even rosewater.
Try it in seasonal takes on classics such as the Rhubarb Collins with gin and lemon juice, Rhubarb Margarita, Rhubarb Julep and in sparkling cocktails such as a variation on the French 75.
How to Make Rhubarb Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup rhubarb, chopped
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
Equipment: small saucepan, swing top glass bottle, funnel, fine strainer
Method
In a small sauce pan, add water and sugar over medium heat and bring to the boil until the sugar is dissolved. Add the chopped rhubarb, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the rhubarb is thoroughly cooked.
Remove from the pan from the heat and leave to cool. Once it has cooled down to room temperature, use a funnel lined with a fine strainer to strain the syrup into a swing top glass bottle. Press down on the solids to extract as much syrup and flavour as possible. The rhubarb syrup will keep fresh in the fridge for approximately 2 weeks.
