The Rum Rhubarb Collins

I love rhubarb, ill say it again! For a sour vegetable stalk it is so versatile. The season is begining to ebb as we are at the solstice and these hot days favor berries over rhubarb stalks. Eat up while we can.

I seem to love pink drinks too. Rhubarb makes a refreshing drink, which could replace pink lemonade. After the rhubarb juice is made, a cocktail is the next logical step.

Rum Rhubarb Collins 

Tested by many friends this week, it evoked comments like "It's so refreshing!", "You can really taste the rhubarb-ness", "...so pretty!"And me the bartender says, "...so easy!"

You might at first wonder why add more sour citrus juice to an already tart situation. People are always trying to sweeten it up. But lemon and lime add to the flavor pop of rhubarb, when I make pie I always add some lemon to the rhubarb, it gives it more dimension. 

The amounts given in the rhubarb juice are a guide, it is impossible to predict how much sugar it will take to get your batch to taste nice. So it tastes like tart lemonade, sugary, sour, and drinkable.

Rum Rhubarb Collins

1/4 of a organic lime

1 1/2 ounces white rum

3 ounces rhubarb juice (recipe below)

1 ounce seltzer water

small rhubarb stalk, sliced narrow, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice.

Squeeze lime well, over ice. Drop lime into glass.

Pour white rum and rhubarb juice over ice. stir.

Top glass off with seltzer water.

Garnish with trimmed stick of rhubarb and trendy or metal straw.

(Making a pincher of drinks would be a great idea if having many people over.)

Making Rhubarb juice

Rhubarb Juice

2 pints rhubarb chopped into 2 inch sections

3 pints water 

1 cup organic white sugar

Wash and chop the rhubarb into 2 inch sections. Place into a soup pot. Pour water over, it should cover the rhubarb by a few inches. Turn heat on high to bring to a boil. 

Lower the heat to medium low and keep it simmering. 

After roughly 10 minutes the rhubarb will fall apart when poked with a spoon. Turn off the heat now.

Let cool, more flavor will steep out while it cools down. If you want to go away and run errands, now is the time, don't worry about it.

When cool, set a mesh strainer over another vessel large enough to hold all the liquid. And have an extra bowl nearby. Pour or ladle the pink rhubarb pulp and juice into the strainer, catching all the gorgeous pink juice. Briefly press down on the pulp to extract a bit more liquid. (It is a strange consistency.) Dump the pulp into the extra empty bowl. Repeat until all the liquid is strained.

The juice may look pretty, but it is still sour. Stir in some of the sugar, allowing time for it to dissolve. Pop the liquid back on the stove and heat it for under 5 minutes to warm it up enough for the sugar to melt well. Taste and add more sugar, creating it to your liking.

Cool, pour into jars. Will save for 2 weeks in the fridge. It freezes well in plastic containers, to be used later in the summer.

Rum Rhubarb Collins