Sharab Shrubs: Unique craft cocktail shrubs for the at-home cocktailer
Sharab Shrubs are leading the way in the cocktail shrub craze with their different approach to flavors and ingredients.
Alex Zweber launched Sharab Shrubs in 2016 from his home in Minneapolis. He fermented fruit and sugar for several days, strained out the solids and added white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. After many rounds of tasting and testing he began selling three flavors of his "shrubs", vinegar-based cocktail mixers, strawberry, apple rosemary, and Asian pear with ginger and cinnamon. Sharab Shrubs was born!
The word sharab, which is Arabic for drink, is where the words shrub, syrup, sherbet and sorbet all derive from.
What is so unique about Sharab Shrubs is the innovation and lack of fear in being bold with their flavor profiles, which range from traditional flavors like Strawberry to unique flavors such as Plum with Wildflower Honey. If you're looking for a little adventure with your shrub drinks then they have a flavor for you.
In this review we tasted the Strawberry, Blueberry Poblano and Asian Pear Ginger Cinnamon shrubs.
Blueberry Poblano
We at cocktailbro love anything with a mexican flair. So when we saw the Blueberry Poblano shrub we were very excited. We decided to pair it with a good vodka to let the shrub flavors stand on their own. The first thing we tasted was the fresh blueberry flavor complemented with a hint of vinegar. This shrub flavor was made with cane vinegar which does a nice job of balancing the blueberry tartness with a mellow sweetness, making it very enjoyable to drink. I was hoping for more poblano flavor as there was only a slight hint of smokiness from the pepper juice. It would be great to see a spicy version of this shrub. Either way it was refreshing and tasted great.
Bro Fist Bumps: 3.5 out of 5
Asian Pear Ginger Cinnamon
You will find a lot of asian pear flavors now with shrubs and syrups because they mix well in a lot of different cocktails. What is unique about this one is that it has ginger root and cinnamon as core ingredients. It is sort of an eclectic mix of flavors that gave us high hopes. While most of the flavors, definitely the asian pear, came across and tasted good with our vodka, we weren't overwhelmed with flavor; especially the ginger. We didn't taste much cinnamon but we definitely were expecting more of a ginger bite and spiciness. The ginger was there but just not as strong as in many other ginger shrubs or syrups. It could have been by design but we still would have loved to have an equal mix of asian pear and ginger which would have made it really stand out. If you like asian pear flavor then you will like this shrub since you will get a unique twist on a traditional shrub flavor. Give it a shot.
Bro Fist Bumps: 3.5 out of 5
Strawberry
We loved this shrub! Our recipe included 3 parts rum, 1.5 parts shrub and a splash of club soda. It had a killer strawberry taste that made it obvious it was made with fresh strawberries and with the rum it had a tropical flair to it. We really enjoyed that Sharab Shrubs kept the flavor simple with just strawberries and didn't try to get too fancy. It is a great foundation for many cocktail since this will go with so many different spirits. We highly recommend this shrub because of its flavor and versatility.
Bro Fist Bumps: 4 out of 5
Sharab Shrubs are not your average cocktail shrubs (and we mean that in a good way). They offer bold and traditional flavor profiles that can work with many different types of spirits or also pair well with club soda for a mocktail. We found them not only tasty but also a low-calorie option to more sugary mixers and syrups. Overall, we recommend giving them a try and don't be afraid to order yourself one of their more unique flavors. Let us know what you think!
Ingredients
Blueberry Poblano: Blueberry juice, cane vinegar, sugar, poblano pepper juice, sodium citrate
Asian Pear: Apple cider vinegar, pear juice, sugar, ginger root, sodium citrate, cinnamon
Strawberry: White vinegar, strawberry juice, sugar, sodium citrate
Calories per 1oz serving: 5-50
Bottle Size: 8oz (237ml)
Note: We received samples for this review but the opinions are our own. The links may also include affiliate links which pay us a small commission but cost you nothing.