Blackberry Lavender Shrub & an Everyday Cocktail

What do you think of when you hear shrub? Cocktails was certainly not the first thing to come to mind, but now it will be! I’ve had cocktails with shrubs before but never fully understood what it was. Thank goodness for Google, right? After about 30 seconds of searching, I found that a shrub is a sweetened, fruit vinegar-based syrup. Vinegar with fruit in a cocktail? Sounds weird, right? It totally is, but they’re also totally delicious, and this blackberry lavender shrub is no exception.

I often make cocktails here for special occasions – Cinco de Mayo, for example. But today it’s all about enjoying the everyday, and I’m partnering up with my brilliant friend Kathryn, who created The Everyday Co. If you’re unfamiliar, Kathryn makes absolutely beautiful, environmentally-friendly cloth napkins, towels, and more. Her work is stunning and you simply have to see it to appreciate it. Here, I’m using her cloth coasters – aren’t they the cutest you’ve ever seen?

Kathryn’s focus on simple living and celebrating the everyday inspires me to do the same. And here I am, doing just that with a sweet, floral cocktail. You can make the blackberry lavender shrub up to a few weeks in advance, so that when you need a fruity, floral cocktail (or mocktail!), all you need to do is stir it in with club soda and a hint of gin, if you so desire (aka, I so desire). I grabbed the recipe from Whole Foods Market to share with you here, as I am not yet a cocktail shrub expert. Yet, being the keyword.

Blackberry Lavender Shrub for the Everyday Cocktail

Now it’s your turn. How do you unwind? Have you been trying to simplify? I’ve been working on downsizing (as in, I’m about to start working on downsizing) and enjoying those small, simple pleasures. You know what I’m talking about, those evening walks, reading a good book, early morning chai (my obsession) – what is it for you?

Everyday coasters are c/o The Everyday Co.

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