BRADLEY FIERRO & ELISE THORP Civil Ferments, Williamston
Ingredients
4 1/2 (3 full shots) oz sparkling water
Spiced apple shrub 1 oz, Civil Ferments or similar
1 oz orange juice
Ginger beer 1 oz
Angostura Aromatic bitters
Directions
Serve over ice. Orange slice to garnish.
Rose-Hip Vodka
It’s a bit more difficult to make but has one major advantage over sloe-gin. It’s ready for drinking immediately. This is a good option if you want instant gratification. Begin by purchasing your vodka. This will yield two bottles. Then, choose your rose hips. For two bottles, I decided about 3/4 of a full colander. It’s surprisingly simple to pick them, and you can get the right amount in no time. Add water to the large pan with rose hips. You will need to use the same amount or slightly more than the amount of rose hip vodka that you intend to make. To make two bottles, add 1.5-2 liters of water to the rosehips. After that, simmer the rose hips vigorously with the lid on for 2 to 3 hours. The rose hips will break down, and the flavor will mix with the water. As the mixture simmers, it will also reduce.
After simmering, filter the rose hips out of the water. The only part that requires some attention is this step. The rose hips contain many little hairs that can irritate the skin and digestive system. (For those of you who were mischievous as children, you may remember stuffing crushed rose hips on the head of a child at school in order to make him itchy). These will have to be filtered before they can be consumed. It’s easy to do. First, use a sieve to remove large rose hip pieces. Then, filter the remaining water either through a paper filter or layers of clean cloth. The latter was the best option. It’s a long process, so it is best to set it up and then do something else. Add the sugar once this has been done. I used 500 grams. Add it to two wine bottles with screw tops and top them up with vodka. This is ready for drinking immediately and pairs well with chocolate pudding. Best served chilled.
These recipes are both very easy to make, and the final product is delicious. You don’t need to worry about weights or measurements. Both recipes are easy and tasty. The only thing that you should be concerned with is the removal of the rose hip hairs. You can adapt both ideas to work with any edible berries you may have in your area. Blackberry vodka, anyone?