October’s Cocktail Club was SO MUCH FUN! This month we had a two wonderful hostesses and a kick ass cocktail, made with homemade raspberry champagne vinegar shrub. And don’t worry, your mason jar cocktail glass was also your personal shaker and things got rowdy. The “Shake Your Razz” cocktail, created by new Cocktail Club member, Darby Doyle, was refreshing, well-rounded, and the perfect definition of “craft.” Think earthy and mildy-sweet, bold and strong.

Amanda and Darby – Shaking their RAZZ.

October Hostess(‘s): Amanda and Darby

Amanda has been a member of cocktail club for a long while and she is an all around outstanding person. We originally got hooked up because she represented Beehive Distilling when we featured Jack Rabbit Gin last year, and after a series of networking moments…she found herself at an HBN Cocktail Club event and has been a supportive member ever since! Amanda is is one of those people who says funny and important things, and I have really loved getting to know her over the past year. It should be noted that she is also SUPER resourceful because she totally outsourced her Cocktail Club event to a good friend of hers, Darby Doyle. Ha! Amanda was a wonderful hostess and Darby was an amazing teacher. I have known Darby by name for sometime because we have done freelance writing for a lot of the same local publications, so I was excited that Darby was going to be participating in Cocktail Club! Her knowledge of not only cocktails, but homemade shrubs and basically anything canned and wonderful was so incredible. She made the night so much fun and also made a remarkable craft cocktail. Thank you Amanda and Darby, for such a fun evening!

In her own words, here is why Darby chose this cocktail for our Cocktail Club: “I chose this cocktail to shake up for them for three reasons: 1) I thought they might want to learn a bit about shrubs, ’cause they’re freakin’ awesome, 2) it’s easy to pre-batch for a crowd, and 3) it’s fun and pretty and requires a bit of audience participation, which is always a hit in my book.”

She’s the best. We love her and now she is a Cocktail Club member forever and ever. 

For more about Darby Doyle and her amazing food and cocktail endeavors (including a fun write up this drink and her evening at HBN Cocktail Club), CLICK HERE >>.

October Cocktail: Shake Your Razz, with homemade raspberry champagne shrub!

First, let’s talk a bit about homemade shrub. It is one of those things that you think might not be so hard — but the DOING IT seems like it takes a lot of effort. I have never canned a thing in my life. I am embarrassed to admit that — I mean, what “foodie” admits that? I like craft, but I like EASY. However, Darby really made it sound like making shrub is not only pretty easy, but also pretty fun.

|| HISTORY LESSON ||

In Darby’s own words — here is what you need to know about shrubs: “centuries-old tonic called a “shrub,” which Slow Food USA claims on their “Ark of Taste” comes from the Arabic word sharab = to drink. Back in the day, folks made shrubs out of all kinds of past-its-prime shit to preserve fruits and their delicious nutrition-packed juices over the winter. By combining equal parts fruit, sweet, and vinegar [e.g. acid], they were essentially pickling the fruit in syrup form. Straining out the solids after a few days of percolating further extended the shrub’s shelf life. Let it sit out exposed to cool air, and all kinds of friendly bacteria joined the fermenting party, making for an even more flavorful—and some would claim beneficial—brew. Eventually you get a very fruity sweet-tart shelf-stable vinegar.”

Got it? Good.

Now that you have a better idea about what “shrub” actually is and how it makes cocktails better — let’s talk about Shake Your Razz. This cocktail is a party-planner’s dream. Low mess, high showing. You get me? Darby did a brilliant thing and pre-mixed the cocktails with the most important ingredients, each in their own mason jar shaker, and then after the presentation all we had to do was fill the jars with ice, put the lids on, and shake our individual drinks. Add some fresh basil and cute straws from BOOZETIQUE, and you have a photographer’s dream cocktail to shoot. If you want a lot of people to have a craft cocktail, this is the way to do it.

I think what I loved most about this cocktail was not only the homemade shrub, but also the use of black tea and rye. They are truly perfect together. This cocktail isn’t really sweet – it is almost heavy with flavor (in an amazing way). There is SO much going on that is really surprising that one sip can produce that much complexity. It’s well rounded and goes down easy — and you probably only need one before you are looking for an Uber ride home, if you know what I mean.

Biggest thanks to Amanda and Darby for such a killer awesome evening —
we all had so much fun and learned a TON,
which is really the entire point of HBN Cocktail Club!

Cheers!

Don’t miss next month’s HBN Cocktail Club adventure;
we are breaking out the bubbly for some awesome champagne cocktails!
Follow along on Instagram with #HBNCocktailClub and @HearbeatNosh.

Until next time, make sure those cocktails are made from real ingredients, friends. <3 

You can find the following items from this post at BOOZTIQUE:
Twine brand mason jar shaker glasses and straws.