Smoked Pineapple Shrub

American history is replete with alcohol lore. Sea-going pilgrims needed their beer for the trip across the ocean to protect from microbes in their freshwater stores. Before they became (in)famous for disappearing completely, Roanoke colony was brewing with corn by 1584. Our founding fathers and mothers, including Benjamin Franklin, preserved their fruit supplies by converting them to vinegars and alcohols (and combining them!). It is said that John Adams drank a tankard-full of hard cider nearly daily; he lived to the ripe age of 90!


So let’s probe American history for some of these practical methods of preservation and how they can be used today in creating wonderful libations. To those ends, let’s talk switchels and shrubs. The two drinks are similar in that they are both vinegar based, lending their tanginess and a distinctive sour background to everything from cocktails to salad dressing.

Here’s their difference: classic shrubs contain a fruit base, classic switchels do not. Switchels are a combination of apple cider vinegar, a sweetener like honey or syrups, and ginger; when the ginger is skipped and honey is used as a sweetener, the drink is known as a honegar. Currently, we’ve got a commercially-made switchel in the Firewater Water Lounge from Up Mountain that features maple syrup as its sweetener.

Shrubs are a combination of a fruit, a sweetener, and apple cider vinegar. In America’s past, shrubs didn’t need to have a vinegar if their acid content was high, that’s why Jerry Thomas’ classic tome has shrub recipes that eschew the vinegar. Thomas’ recipes did add it back to sweet fruit bases such as raspberries.

We’re going to ramp up the acid, however, because our shrub recipe is meant to be mixed with alcohol rather than imbibed straight. Our shrub’s base comes from the newest state in our history: Hawaii. Here’s how to make a smoked pineapple shrub...

Smoked Pineapple Shrub

Holly's Original

2 cups fresh pineapple spears
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup honey

Cut one large or two medium pineapples into grillable spears. Grill until marks appear on spears, about 5 minutes per side. Take spears from the grill and cut into 1 inch cubes. Place spears into a large sauce pan along with the vinegar and the honey. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer 20 minutes. Using a potato masher, crush pineapple cubes to remove as much juice as possible. Double strain through cheesecloth into a clean container. Enjoy in a cocktail or mix with a quality olive oil to make pineapple vinaigrette.