I shot this a few weeks ago but of course forgot to upload it here. It’s rhubarb season here, and after watching a few people overthink rhubarb syrup I thought I’d share how I do it at home (and at the bar) – it’s insanely easy. Some thoughts on rhubarb syrup.
I’ve never liked this method I see people using where you cook the rhubarb for a long time on the stovetop, for several reasons:
- Rhubarb gets that real stewed, vegetal flavor when you cook it over heat. I like it in pies, where you’re usually combining it with the brightness of strawberries. But in cocktails I don’t really want an overcooked vegetable note in drinks I associate wiith springtime.
- It takes a long time and isn’t necessary if you want rhubarb flavor in your cocktails.
- The cleanup sucks.
So what I do is just wash and rough-chop the rhubarb and measure the volume. Then, I just combine it with equal volumes of both hot water and sugar. Throw it all in the blender for a few seconds and then strain out the solids. VOILA.
If you want a really strongly-flavored rhubarb syrup (as we use at the bar in our Strawberry-Rhubarb Aperol Spritz on draft) then I suggest you juice your rhubarb in a masticating juicer and then use the Universal Syrup Calculator to make a perfect 2:1 compound syrup. Are you not using the syrup calculator yet? Why not?!
Anyway here’s the video below, give it a try sometime and let us know what you think!
