Buzz
If you’ve ever been berry picking, you know how quickly you can end up with a mountain of fruit. Each ripe berry practically begs to be picked, and soon enough, you’re carting home flats of berries and making big plans. Then you get home and realize you might’ve gotten a little carried away.
Technically speaking, there’s no such thing as “too many berries.” Besides eating them fresh (I prefer mine with a little cream), you can turn them into jam, bake them into delicious pies, or freeze them to preserve the harvest. However, there is such a thing as burnout. Once you (and your friends) have had enough of jam and pies, it’s time to get creative with something in a bottle.
Like any problem, real or imagined, my solution is to drink about it. Berries and alcohol are a match made in heaven, and there are three simple ways to get them acquainted with each other.
Simple: Just muddle it
Place half a cup of berries in a shaker and sprinkle them with a tablespoon of sugar. Muddle them thoroughly and let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes to create a syrup. Taste the liquid and add more sugar if needed, as berries' sweetness can vary. Pour in two ounces of your preferred liquor—gin works wonders with fresh summer berries, though rum is a great alternative, especially if you're adding mint for mojitos. Squeeze in an ounce of lemon or lime juice, taste and adjust, then fill the shaker with ice and shake until cold. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice and top off with soda water.
A bit more complex: Shrub it up
Shrubs are non-alcoholic, but their fruity vinegars make for a fantastic pairing with booze. My preferred method for making shrubs is this simple version, which requires no cooking and minimal measuring. Start with a pound of fruit, toss it with two cups of sugar. White sugar is ideal for bringing out the berry flavor, but brown sugar adds a nice twist. If you have herbs on hand, add them in—thyme and blackberries are a perfect combo. Mash the fruit with a wooden spoon, stir to evenly distribute the sugar, then cover with a dish towel and let it sit for two days, stirring once a day.
After a couple of days, you'll be left with a bounty of berry-infused goodness. Strain the mixture, measure the liquid, and match that amount with vinegar. Gradually add the vinegar, half a cup at a time, tasting as you go until you reach the desired level of tartness. Your shrub is ready. Pour it into a beautiful bottle and mix it into seltzer, along with an ounce or two of your favorite hard liquor.
Not too complicated: Liqueur it up
If you're someone who enjoys the finer things and wants to craft a classy drink, crème de mûre is the way to go—not only for its chic French name but also because it's both delicious and simple to make. This recipe is specific to blackberries, but I don’t see why you couldn’t try other berries as well. There are plenty of variations on this, including a recipe from Serious Eats that uses brandy, but I prefer this one from A Tipsy Giraffe, which incorporates a full bottle of red wine. Like our shrub, it requires a little patience. Begin by mashing five cups of berries with a bottle of medium-bodied red wine in a large bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let it sit for a couple of days. Strain out the pulp and seeds (cheesecloth comes in handy here), then pour the liquid into a saucepan with a cup and a half of sugar. Bring to a simmer, stir to dissolve the sugar, and cook for about eight minutes. Allow it to cool, stir in half a cup of vodka, and pour the mix into clean, preferably sterilized bottles. (Can you add more than half a cup of vodka? Could you use Everclear instead of vodka? Yes to both—just be sure to taste as you go.)
