September 16, 2014 – Using traditional techniques from the colonial era, Vesuvio general manager Christian Pèpe and bar manager Jay Wallace are launching a line of six fresh fruit shrubs that make great cocktail mixers. “We’ve been serving them at the restaurant since the beginning of the year and thought it was such good stuff that we decided to put it in a bottle and sell it,” says Wallace. A website for the new brand, called Shrub Doctor, went live today and includes information about the ingredients, how the elixirs are made and cocktail recipes.
Wallace says they are bottling their elixirs in the kitchen at Carmel Bakery using a very simple combination of fresh fruits, pure cane sugar and vinegar. They are not cooked, so the result is very fresh tasting. “It’s a regional recipe that is part of America’s cultural heritage,” says Wallace, who is interested in the Slow Food movement and sees Doctor Shrub as a way of saving culinary traditions and techniques that were on the verge of disappearing.
The jewel toned syrups come in six flavors: Pineapple-Ginger with a hint of cayenne; Prickly Pear; Raspberry; Strawberry; Granny Smith Apple; and a Blackberry-Blueberry combo. “People really like the pineapple-ginger,” adds Wallace, “and it makes a really nice twist on a Moscow Mule.” The veteran barkeep makes a delicious strawberry cosmopolitan, using two parts vodka and one part strawberry shrub. He also enjoys mixing with the prickly pear shrub—that tastes kind of like watermelon mixed with hibiscus.
“These things have so much flavor in them that you can make a fancy cocktail quickly and easily like we do at the restaurant,” he says.
Shrub Doctor will be sold online to start with, for $22 per 16 ounce bottle. Three packs are also available for $60.
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At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
