Shrub & Co. Spicy Ginger Shrub

Shrub & Co. Spicy Ginger Shrub: It’s that time of year when a cocktail that borders on the medicinal makes you feel better about drinking, if not actually healthier. So why not use a shrub, the reinvented take on a vinegar-based concoction Colonials made to preserve fruit back in the day? Today shrubs provide a yummy charge to drinks, something between bitters and wine.

This Spicy Ginger Shrub is particularly perfect to add zing to a Rob Roy (especially if you add lemon and honey), or to create a Moscow Mule with a zippy kick. Shrub & Co., out of Berkeley, has a line of piquant pours that can make your bar even better, including a cranberry shrub with Douglas fir, if you’re missing Christmas.

Even better you don’t have to order online, as the new cocktail accoutrement store in town, Still (37 E. Ortega St., elevateyourethanol.com), carries them all.

See shrubandco.com