I Tried a Cocktail-in-a-Box Service — And It Changed The Way I Drink

Don't know what shrub is? It's cool; I didn't either before it showed up in one of my cocktail kits with an ingredient card explaining what it was. I'd seen the bottled ingredient in artisanal liquor stores and on the cocktail menus of trendy drinking establishments, but I had never tasted it and definitely had no idea how to use it. The fruity, vinegar-based syrup adds a sweet, acidic punch to cocktails and keeps well long after being opened, thanks to the preserving powers of vinegar and sugar. I had a chance to try a tomato shrub in the Michelaila cocktail I made (a sweet, tart take on the classic beer cocktail, Michelada). The drink also called for another interesting ingredient twist: mezcal!