Apple Ginger Shrub

This Apple Ginger Shrub is sweet-tart. It uses fresh apples, ginger, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Mix this easy recipe with sparkling water, tonic, or ginger beer. Make it once and keep it chilled. Pour it whenever you want something better than plain water.

Drink mixers exist between simple syrup and bitters. Somehow, most of us never hear about this category.

It is called a shrub.

Despite the name, there are no leafy plants involved. A drinking shrub is a concentrated mixer traditionally made with fruit, sugar, and vinegar. The result is fruity, tart, lightly sweet, and surprisingly refreshing.

Keep this in the refrigerator. Reach for it when sparkling water needs more personality. A few tablespoons turn bubbles into something more intentional.

This shrub leans into early fall. It uses crisp apples, fresh ginger, and apple cider vinegar. Acidity wakes up the drink. Sweetness balances it. Ginger adds a little warmth.

Makes: About 2 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Rest Time: 24 hours
Total Time: 24 hours 15 minutes

What Is a Drinking Shrub?

If you have never heard of a shrub, you are definitely not alone.

A drinking shrub is a concentrated syrup made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar. The vinegar might sound strange. However, it serves a similar purpose to citrus in a drink. It adds acidity and keeps sweetness in balance.

If shrubs are new to you, Food52 has a great guide to making shrubs. These are also known as drinking vinegars. The guide explains how the fruit, sugar, and vinegar combination works.

Shrubs have been around for centuries. Before refrigeration, sugar and vinegar preserved seasonal flavors. Now, shrubs are back on bar carts. They combine fruit, sweetness, and acidity in one ingredient.

And you definitely do not need to be a mixologist to use one. Pour a little into a glass, add ice and something bubbly, stir, and taste.

That is really it.

Why You'll Love This Apple Shrub Recipe

The best thing about this apple shrub recipe is that you are not making just one drink. You are making the beginning of a lot of drinks.

This homemade shrub can go bright and simple with sparkling water. Add tonic for a little bitterness, or ginger beer if you want more spice. You can even experiment with unsweetened iced tea.

Apple and ginger also make an easy transition into fall. The combination feels seasonal without going immediately to cinnamon, pumpkin, or heavier autumn flavors.

If apple season has your kitchen overflowing, Serious Eats has a helpful guide. Read how to store apples so they stay fresh longer.

Apple Ginger Shrub Recipe

Ingredients

2 medium crisp apples, cored and chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh ginger
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Make the Apple Ginger Shrub

Place the chopped apples, sugar, and ginger in a clean glass jar or bowl.

Stir everything together, then gently press the apples with the back of a wooden spoon. You are not trying to mash them completely. You just want to help the fruit release its juices.

Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Give the mixture a stir once or twice during that time.

By the next day, the sugar should have pulled plenty of juice from the apples. You should see syrup forming in the bottom of the container.

Pour in the apple cider vinegar and stir until any remaining sugar dissolves.

Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean jar or bottle. Press gently on the fruit to extract the liquid, then discard or compost the solids.

Cover your homemade shrub and refrigerate until chilled.

Give It a Taste

Freshly made shrub can taste fairly sharp. That is normal.

The flavors begin to mellow as the fruit, sugar, and vinegar spend more time together. Give it a taste after chilling, then again after a day or two.

You are looking for apple first, followed by ginger and a bright, tangy finish.

How to Make an Apple Ginger Shrub Drink

This is where this apple shrub recipe gets wonderfully uncomplicated.

Fill a glass with ice. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons Apple Ginger Shrub, then top with about 6 ounces sparkling water. Stir and taste.

Want more apple and acidity? Add another splash of shrub. Want more bubbles? Add more sparkling water.

For something different, swap the sparkling water for tonic or ginger beer. Garnish with a fresh apple slice or thin piece of ginger. A rosemary sprig or cinnamon stick can lean the finished drink a little further into fall.

Mix In Jungle Luna

The Jungle Luna presale opens in a few weeks. This is a perfect bar-cart staple for our drops.

Make the homemade shrub separately and keep it chilled. Then build each drink individually and stir Jungle Luna into the finished glass.

Nebula Pure is our first choice here. Its unflavored profile lets the apple, ginger, and tangy vinegar stay at the center of the drink.

Solar Citrus Hibiscus takes it in another direction. Its citrus and floral notes add another layer to the apple and ginger.

Keep Jungle Luna out of the full batch. This lets each person control their own glass, drop by drop.

Apple Ginger Shrub FAQs

What is a shrub drink?

A shrub is a concentrated drink mixer made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Also called a drinking vinegar, it is sweet-tart rather than sour. Mix a few tablespoons with sparkling water, tonic, or ginger beer for a finished drink.

Does a shrub taste like vinegar?

A well-made shrub tastes fruit-forward, with a bright and tangy finish. It does not taste sharply of vinegar. The fruit and sugar balance the acidity, much like citrus in a cocktail. Freshly made shrub tastes sharper. The flavors mellow after a day or two in the refrigerator.

Is a shrub alcoholic?

Apple Ginger Shrub is non-alcoholic. It is made from apples, sugar, ginger, and apple cider vinegar, with no alcohol at any stage. You decide what to mix it with. Sparkling water keeps it zero-proof, or it can go into a cocktail.

How much shrub should I put in a drink?

Start with 1 to 2 tablespoons of shrub for about 6 ounces of sparkling water. Taste, then adjust from there. Shrubs are concentrated, so adding more is easier than fixing an over-poured glass. More shrub brings more apple and acidity. More sparkling water softens both.

How long does homemade apple shrub last?

Homemade apple shrub keeps in a covered container in the refrigerator. Use it within a few weeks for best flavor. Discard it if you notice signs of spoilage. Look for cloudiness, off smells, or visible mold.

Which Jungle Luna flavor pairs best with an Apple Ginger Shrub?

Nebula Pure is the Jungle Luna flavor that pairs best with an Apple Ginger Shrub. Its unflavored profile lets the apple, ginger, and tangy vinegar stay at the center. Solar Citrus Hibiscus takes it in another direction. It adds citrus and floral notes to the apple and ginger.

Keep Exploring

If this apple shrub recipe has you thinking differently about your bar cart, try our Blackberry Rosemary Mule Mocktail next. It pairs fresh blackberry, rosemary, lime, and ginger beer.

Visit How It Works to learn more. Learn about mixing Jungle Luna culinary cannabis drops into food and drinks.

Eat. Sip. Feel.