Rhubarb-Gin-Cocktail
History of Gin

This easy rhubarb-gin-cocktail uses minimal ingredients to make the tastiest of my favorite summer drinks.

Pictures of pink drinks really get to me. I really want one. Not sure if it's the visual appeal of the color, the frosty look of the glass just automatically makes me thirsty, or a combination of the two.

It could even be the fact that I love ice cold pink grapefruit juice and that's what this cocktail reminded me of. Whatever it was, I decided to make one of my own recently using the Tanqueray gin I had and I think it turned out pretty good!

This rhubarb-gin-recipe, as the ingredients are very few and basic, sure wasn't rocket-science.

Here is the recipe if you are looking for a nice easy way to combine your rhubarb and gin for a nice cold gin-drink. Pretty simple.

Rhubarb-Gin-Cocktail

3 cups chopped rhubarb

2 tblsp. white sugar

1 capful of vanilla extract

1/2 cup orange juice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan, cook down 10 minutes on medium heat.

Let cool and strain. Keep the pulp of the rhubarb or toss. I kept a little bit to "soak" in the leftover juice.

To lots of ice in a wine glass, add 1 and a half ounces of Tanqueray gin (whatever gin you have on hand) and as much as you want of the cooled rhubarb juice. Garnish with a slice of orange.

If you use a smaller glass instead of a larger wine glass, of course you will have more juice left. I had about 2 cups of juice leftover after I made my drink.

I added a bit of the pulp back in and refrigerated it for over a week.

As for the use of Tanqueray gin, I am guessing it doesn't really matter what the brand is. I have Tanqueray because it's what my Mother likes when she visits.

I have adopted her favorite drink of choice as my own, which is "gin and tonic." I'm not one for the super sweet drinks anymore. I like the bitter taste of the gin and tonic, and though this rhubarb drink had some sweetness, I found it more tart than anything. I liked this taste very much.

Depending on your preference, you could certainly adjust the amount of sugar added.

Did you know that like rhubarb, gin has a rather interesting background to it?

For example, speaking of Gin and Tonic, it was created as a medicine to fight malaria in British soldiers by making use of the quinine found in the tonic.

The lime that is usually in a gin and tonic either as a garnish or as a splash of juice, contains Vitamin C, and this was intended to aid in preventing scurvy.

Rhubarb-Gin-Cocktail With Tonic

1/2 tsp. of bitters

1 oz gin

1 oz rhubarb juice

1 tsp. simple syrup

lemon slice for garnish

Swish the bitters around your glass to coat and then drain out any leftover.

Fill glass to half with ice-cubes.

Combine gin, tonic, rhubarb juice and syrup..garnish

Note re rhubarb juice: This is plain rhubarb cooked down and strained.

For simple syrup (water, sugar), see "Rhubarb Bellini" for the recipe and video on the Rhubarb Beverage page.

History says that gin appeared in the Netherlands in the 1600's and it comes from a mix of oil of juniper and grain spirits.

The intent of it was medical in nature in order to deal with kidney problems.

By the late 1600's, people were making it at home to deal with their general ailments.

It was considered healthier to drink than the water available and it was much cheaper than ale to produce. There was quite a widespread use of gin as a common beverage.

Drinking gin was also associated with people who were poor - A poor man's drink?

As the years went by, and gin "tastes" changed from sweet to dry as a preference in the late 1800's, suddenly it became "respectable" to drink it, as gins with bitters were served in the more prestigious drinking establishments.

Then eventually came Prohibition though, (no alcohol allowed anywhere) and another homemade recipe called "bathtub gin" was made. It tasted terrible apparently and since the proper purification processes weren't in place at all, there were some unfortunate deadly results for some people. It was still easy to produce illegally but not under the healthiest and safest of circumstances.

Still, gin remained popular because of the smoothness and the dryness of the drink itself. People also discovered that it was easy to with lots of other flavors that appealed to them.

How About A Rhubarb Gimlet?

2 oz gin

6 oz tonic

2 oz rhubarb syrup

Mix in a tall frosted glass with crushed ice.

Garnish with a slice of lime.

Rhubarb - Ginger Cocktail

1 oz pureed rhubarb juice

1 oz ginger liqueur

1 shot gin

Enjoy this ginger flavored rhubarb-gin-cocktail. Lots of ice!

Great photo and recipe for simple syrup and Rhubarb Collins for a lovely summer-time drink.

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Rhubarb Gin Cocktail
Made it myself! Try one.