Tantalize your happy hour with this Cranberry Shrub Cocktail recipe from 'Very Merry Cocktails' by Jessica Strand (Chronicle Books, September 2020).

CRANBERRY SHRUB COCKTAIL

This drink takes a couple of extra steps due to the tantalizingly tart shrub (a mixture of sugar, apple cider, and fruit), but the effort is all worth it for this delicious, healthy-ish cocktail.

MAKES 1 DRINK

Ingredients and Directions:

Cranberry Shrub (BELOW)

3½ oz [100 ml] vodka

Ginger ale, for topping off

3 fresh cranberries, skewered, for garnish

• • Fill a highball glass halfway with crushed ice. Pour in 2 oz [60 ml] of the cranberry shrub, add the vodka, and stir. Top off with ginger ale and garnish with the cranberry skewer.

CRANBERRY SHRUB

8 oz [240 ml] apple cider vinegar

1 cup [200 g] sugar

1 cup [120 g] cranberries

Heat the apple cider vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar fully dissolves. Add the cranberries and bring to a simmer, mashing the cranberries into the mixture as they soften. Simmer for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let cool. Strain the shrub into an airtight glass container. The shrub can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Makes 12 oz [355 ml].

(* Reprinted from 'Very Merry Cocktails' by Jessica Strand with permission by Chronicle Books, 2020 -Photography by Ren Fuller)