Take a sweet, luscious fruit base of figs and orange, mix it with the floral and fruity notes of a great gin and top with a sparkling, crisp club soda – what a refreshing way to enjoy the delightful fig!
We’ve almost made it to September but the heat hasn’t yet subsided. I’ve still got a batch of figs in my fridge and something cold and fun seems to be if order. A shrub is the ideal cocktail to accomplish both! Shrubs have been around for centuries. They’re made with a fruit base that starts by cooking the fruit along with sugar and either vinegar, citrus or both. It’s sounds like an odd combination but with a pour of gin and a fizz of club soda, the result is quite wonderful!
The base for this shrub cocktail begins with fresh figs plus the juice and zest of an orange, sugar, and an aged balsamic vinegar. The fruit base is then blended with gin, lime juice, and club soda creating a fabulous cocktail.
The figs are cooked with the orange zest, orange juice, sugar, and balsamic vinegar until they’re soft and the syrup is thick, then puréed until smooth.
And to get a jump on entertaining, mix the shrub together, keep it chilled and add the club soda when you’re ready to serve.
There’s a small amount of prep in this cocktail but you’ll have enough for seconds or sharing!
Fig and Orange Gin Shrub Cocktail
¾ pound fresh figs, about 15 figs plus extra for garnish*
Zest of 1 orange, about 1 teaspoon
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 1 orange
â…“ cup aged balsamic vinegar**
1 cup sugar
1 cup good gin, such as Nolet’s Silver
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, about 1 large lime
3 cups club soda
Ice for serving
Combine the figs with the sugar, orange zest, orange juice and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the figs are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
Using a blender, purée the fig base until very smooth, about 2 minutes on medium speed. The fruit base will be thick.
Transfer the fruit base to a pitcher. Add the gin plus the fresh lime juice and stir to blend together.
To serve, pour ½ cup of the fruit and gin base into a glass filled with ice.
Top off with ½ cup club soda and stir to mix together and top with a sliced fig for garnish.
*In the event you can’t find fresh figs, use dried figs. Just cook them a bit longer until they’re quite tender. **Aged balsamic vinegar is a thicker, sweeter vinegar – perfect for this cocktail. Makes 6 cocktails.
Fig and Orange Gin Shrub Cocktail
Equipment
- small saucepan
- Blender
Ingredients
- ¾ pound fresh figs, about 15 figs* plus extra for garnish
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, about 1 orange
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 1 orange
- â…“ cup good aged balsamic vinegar**
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup good gin
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, about 1 large lime
- 3 cups club soda
- Ice for serving
Instructions
- Combine the figs with the sugar, orange zest, orange juice and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the figs are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
- Using a blender, purée the fig base until very smooth, about 2 minutes on medium speed. The fruit base will be thick.
- Transfer the fruit base to a pitcher. Add the gin, lime juice and stir to blend together.
- To serve, pour ½ cup of the fruit and gin base into a glass filled with ice.
- Top off with ½ cup club soda. Stir to mix together and top with a sliced fig for garnish.
