Ginger was an absolutely essential ingredient in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century American drinks, a fact borne out by flipping through period household manuals. These contain all manner of gingery “receipts,” from ginger wine to ginger pop, beer, and lemonade; it was also called upon as supporting character in all kinds of recipes. Our spicy ginger syrup provides a perfect base ales, beer, and pops!

Shrubs were a popular method of preserving fruit in New England during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Though almost all apple cider in those days was fermented, I saw an opportunity here to build a non-alcoholic drink reflecting this month’s historical milieu with sweet, non-alcoholic cider, cranberry shrub, and our ginger-molasses syrup, with lemon juice to bolster the acid and salt and cayenne to liven things up.