Mezcal Sour with Strawberry, Burnt Lemon and Pink Peppercorn Shrub

Today marks the 5th recipe and final day of Strawberry Week (fin!).

To bring us home, I’m turning things over to our monthly columnist and my darling husband, Roger. He’s written a juicy and delicious shrub recipe that can be made into a simple cocktail or mocktail — dealer’s choice.

You can find all the other recipes from Strawberry Week here:

Introducing: Strawberry Week

·

May 24

When produce is in peak season during spring and summer, I love to devote myself to one ingredient in particular. It’s a nice way to revel in the ephemeral nature of the seasons and appreciate what we have. This year, it’s the strawberry — a fruit that tends to taste like the water at the bottom of a flower vase when it’s bad, and like a juicy, sun-warm…

If you’d like to see a second-annual Strawberry Week next summer, or have another ingredient to obsesses over together, please write to me in the comments.

I’ll let Roger take things from here.

Despite appearances, I’m not always creating complicated cocktails for myself or others at home. I don’t always have complementary bottles of booze — let alone sweet simple syrups or citrus — on offer. Lemon and lime juice don’t stay stable and delicious after even a few hours.

A great remedy for this conundrum is to make a shrub. This simple-to-make vinegar-based additive combines smooth acidity, ripe sweetness and complexity; just add a spirit. For this recipe, I combined fresh strawberries and smoky burnt lemon for a summery strawberry lemonade taste. The addition of pink peppercorn adds a mouth-watering and slightly spicy dimension.

Shrubs are great because unlike most syrups, they easily translate to non-alcoholic drinks. Mix the shrub with sparkling water and ice to taste, and you’ll have an easy crowd pleaser. In this instance, we are combining the shrub with a mezcal from one of my favorite agave distillers, Derrumbes. Durango is an affordable and unctuous spirit with notes of ripe mango, vanilla and musk. If you can’t get your hands on this bottle, experiment. I chose mezcal, but feel free to use your favorite un-aged gin, vodka or blanco tequila. It will likely result in a delicious sipper.

Makes 12 oz, 8 servings Difficulty: Easy Active Time: 20 minutes Inactive Time: 24 hours

For the shrub:

• 2 lemons, halved

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered, stems intact

• .75 cup sugar

• .75 cup apple cider vinegar

• 20 pink peppercorns

• .25 cup honey

For the drink:

• 2 oz Mezcal (Derrumbes Durango)

• 1.5 oz shrub

1. Turn your broiler to high. Generously drizzle olive oil on the cut side of the halved lemons and sprinkle with salt. Place your lemons with the cut side up on an aluminum-lined sheet tray and broil for 12 minutes, or until the cut side is charred in parts.

2. Fill a deli container with the strawberries. Pour in the sugar, squeeze the lemon juice from the burnt lemons and reserve the carcasses. Cover with a lid and shake the container to evenly cover the strawberries. Set aside while you heat the vinegar.

3. Heat the vinegar on low in a small pot. Add the burnt lemon carcasses and honey, stirring to dissolve. Crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle and add to the pot. Warm and infuse for 12 minutes, then remove from heat. Transfer your macerated strawberries and infused vinegar into a jar and let infuse for 24 hours in the fridge.

4. The following day, strain out the solids with a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth, wringing out the juice from the strawberries. Pour the remaining liquid into a clean bottle and keep in the fridge for up to two months.

5. To make a drink, add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.

6. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds and strain with a fine mesh strainer over a cocktail coupe.

Cheers!

-Rog