I just love the deep crimson color of fresh red beets, and I really enjoy their flavor in a well-balanced cocktail. A little goes a long way though, as it can easily overpower the other ingredients.
Speaking of overpowering ingredients, let’s talk about sage. Cooked sage is delicious, fresh sage is a little weird. If a plant could be described as gamey, then you would certainly be talking about fresh sage.
But there is an easy fix that transforms sage into an extremely useful herb in your cocktail arsenal. You simply need to quick-fry the fresh leaves in oil, and the result is a metamorphosis. A light, crispy, perfectly green leaf to then use as a garnish, or ingredient in any freshly-made concoction. Cocktails, salads, charcuterie boards, fancy toasts, desserts, the applications are endless.
Let’s start with a classic sour or flip style cocktail, and mix it up with beets and sage. While we are at it, let’s change the citrus to grapefruit, and add a little Vermouth. Use an egg white if you like, or skip it, if you just can’t face a raw egg in your cocktail. This recipe works either way, and it will still be stunning. Now crank up your favorite tunes, and enjoy!
The Beet Goes On
Equipment
- Oven or Air Fryer
- Saucepan
- Measuring cups
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Jigger
- Cocktail shaker
- Hawthorne Strainer
Ingredients
- 2 oz Bourbon, 90-100 proof
- 0.75 oz Beet-Sage Shrub
- 0.75 oz Grapefruit Juice
- 0.25 oz Dry Vermouth
- 0.25 oz Simple Syrup
- 3-4 drops Saline (4:1, water to salt)
- Fresh sage for garnish (fried in olive oil)
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat
- Drop in fresh sage leaves, and remove pan from heat
- Transfer sage leaves to a paper towel to drain
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, and shake vigorously to build the foam
- Add ice to shaker, and shake until well chilled
- Strain cocktail into a rocks glass over fresh ice
- Garnish with two of the fried sage leaves
Beet-Sage Shrub
Ingredients
- 1 ib Whole Fresh Red Beet
- 2-3 sprigs Fresh Sage (appx. 20 leaves)
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 8 oz Granulated Cane Sugar
- 4 oz White Wine Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat over or air fryer to 350 degrees
- Place whole beet on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil
- Roast in the oven or air fryer for 1 hour, remove and let rest
- Heat 3 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat
- Add sage leaves, and remove from heat (leaves will sizzle, but you do not want to continue to fry them, or they can burn)
- Dice beet into ½” cubes (no need to remove the skin)
- Combine diced beets, fried sage with oil and sugar in a sealable container, stir to incorporate sugar
- Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, but stir one or twice a day to help dissolve the sugar
- Strain beet and sugar mixture through a fine mesh strainer, then wash the vinegar through the beet/sage residue into the same container
- Refrigerate and enjoy!
- Recipe makes appx 14 oz of cocktail shrub
