Dark and Stormy Forest
A curious twist on a Dark and Stormy, our Dark Cherry Shrub Syrup or Shrub Elixir pair beautifully with Dark Rum in this delicious concoction.
INGREDIENTS
30 ml The Curious Cabinet Cherry Shrub Syrup
2 shots Dark Rum or Dark Spiced Rum
Lime
Soda Water
Pour rum and Cherry Shrub Syrup into a highball glass with lots of ice. Top with soda. Add a squeeze of lime. Stir gently & garnish with a slice or wedge of lime.
If you have our Dark Cherry Sparkling Shrub Elixir it’s even easier! Just pour rum into a tall glass with lots of ice. Top with Sparkling Shrub. Add a squeeze of lime. Stir gently & garnish with a slice or wedge of lime.
Strawberry Shrub Gold Rush
We were thrilled to have our Strawberry Shrub Syrup featured in a cocktail by Aus Botanicals. Try this with your favourite Single Malt Whiskey, we recommend Blackwoods Distilling Co.
Here’s how to make it:
INGREDIENTS
60ml Single Malt Whiskey
30ml Strawberry Shrub Syrup
22.5ml lemon juice
60ml grapefruit juice
Ice
METHOD
Add all ingredients including ice to the cocktail shaker and give a really vigorous shake! Double strain into cocktail glass.
Garnish with a citrus rose.
Sit back and enjoy!
CURIOUS Swirl Pound Cake
Add an extra level of intrigue in your next tea cake with this sweet twist on a classic morning or afternoon tea treat. This is our intriguing twist on Ashees CookBook Recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp The Curious Cabinet Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam or Strawberry and Pepper Berry Jam
few drops of strawberry essence (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven @180 c for 10 minutes.
Sieve together flour,salt,baking powder and keep aside
Beat together butter and sugar till soft then add in eggs ,vanilla essence,yoghurt and beat till creamy. Add in flour mix and combine well.
Take about 1/4 cup of batter and The Curious Cabinet Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam or Strawberry and Pepper Berry Jam, and essence (if using) mix well...
Add the batter alternatively on to the greased baking tin and swirl with a knife and bake @180 c for 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Jam Tarts
A curious twist on jam tarts, with our favourite Women’s Weekly recipe.
Try this with our range of jams and preserves.
INGREDIENTS
2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar, plus 1 tablespoon extra for dusting
185g cold unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp iced water
1/2 cup The Curious Cabinet Strawberry and Pepper Berry Jam
1/2 cup The Curious Cabinet Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam
1/2 cup The Curious Cabinet Rhubarb and Ginger Conserve
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Process flour, icing sugar and butter until crumbly. With motor operating, add egg yolk and enough of the water to make ingredients come together. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead gently until smooth. Roll half the pastry between sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Repeat with remaining pastry. Place on trays and refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Grease three 12-hole (1-tablespoon/20ml) shallow round-based patty pans.
4. Using a 6cm round cutter, cut 18 rounds from each piece of pastry; re-roll pastry scraps as necessary. Press pastry rounds into pan holes. Prick pastry cases well with a fork. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
5. Bake pastry cases about 5 minutes. Drop slightly rounded teaspoons of jam into pastry cases.
6. Bake tarts about 10 minutes; cool. Dust with extra sifted icing sugar before serving.
Garnish Suggestions
Jazz up your drinks with these fruit and herb garnish suggestions. Perfect and unique to each Shrub Syrup flavour, these are an easy way to add wow-factor to a simple Shrub and Soda or one of our Sparkling Shrub Elixirs.
These garnishes are great with any of our Shrub Syrups and even in your own creations. Unlock your curiosity by channelling your inner mixologist and coming up with your own intriguing creations.
GARNISH SUGGESTIONS
RHUBARB SHRUB: mint, ginger, rosemary
CHERRY SHRUB: mint, rosemary
STRAWBERRY SHRUB: mint, basil, cucumber
WHITE PEACH SHRUB: mint, rosemary, thyme, sage
MANDARIN SHRUB: mint, thyme, rose petals, Mandarin Dust, green olives
LIME SHRUB: Lime Dust, mint, rose petals, dehydrated fruit
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Chocolate Cherry Brownies
We’re thrilled to have our Choc-Bourbon Cherries featured in STORY Cocktails’ Chocolate Cherry Brownies recipe. These delicious brownies are tailored to be matched with their platinum winning Martinez.
Here is the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
125g butter
150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
60g The Curious Cabinet’s Choc-Bourbon Cherries
60g roasted pecans (optional)
1 cup caster sugar
60g cocoa powder
75g plain flower
¾ tsp baking powder
3 large free-range eggs
50g Cherry Ripe block chocolate (optional)
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°. Line a 20cm square baking tin (or the equivalent) with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water).
3. Roughly chop the pecans and mix them with the cherries into the melted chocolate. Remove from heat.
4. In another bowl, add the sugar, then sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder. Add to the melted chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.
5. Beat the eggs and mix in. Roughly chop and stir through the extra dark chocolate (if using).
6. Transfer the mixture to the tin, then bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. You want them a little gooey in the middle.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool in the tray, before cutting into squares.
For a sophisticated, after dinner treat, serve with a chilled glass of STORY Cocktails Martinez.
Rhubarb, Ginger & Apple-tini
Another winter-warmer as the weather changes, although we can confirm that it’s delicious all year ‘round! This gin based cocktail combines rhubarb, ginger and apple to make a warm, sweet and deliciously tart concoction. If you’re not a gin fan, it also works really well with vodka.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 ounces The Curious Cabinet Rhubarb Shrub Syrup
1/4 ounce Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur
2 ounces of your favourite London Dry Gin
METHOD
Add all ingredients a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with thin slices of apple.
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New-Fashioned - warm up for Winter.
A winter concoction to warm your bones. Introducing our NEW-FASHIONED (Alcohol-Free option included)
A winter concoction to warm your bones. Introducing our NEW-FASHIONED. We’ve also created a non-alcoholic version.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces bourbon
1/2 ounce smoky scotch (Like @laphroaig)
1/2 ounce The Curious Cabinet Cherry Shrub
2 dashes Chocolate Bitters
METHOD
Add all ingredients a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir well. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
(NOTE: For an alcohol-free version of this delicious recipe, switch out the bourbon and whisky for something like @lyresspiritco American Malt and @sansdrinks Sans Bar 'Kings of Tartan')
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World Environment Day: Our Sustainable Philosophy
With World Environment Day coming up on June 5th we thought we would shine a light on some of the ways we try to make a difference and how we respect our beautiful planet.
Our products would not be as delicious if it weren’t for Mother Nature and the amazing ingredients we have at our fingertips. Our team therefore always try our hardest to prioritise the environment in all aspects of our production and distribution.
With World Environment Day coming up on June 5th we thought we would shine a light on some of the ways we try to make a difference and how we respect our beautiful planet:
Re-using Cardboard
We have many fun machines in our production line, but our personal favourite is our cardboard shredder. We use this to convert the cardboard we receive everyday into material that is used to pack orders and keep your curious items safe during transit. Our version of bubble-wrap. We also re-use any bubble wrap or filling materials we receive from our suppliers, so any time you receive any plastic in your parcels - it's been re-used with love.
Fruit
The fruit strained from our Shrub Syrups is transformed into a range of products including preserves, jams, and our personal favourite ... our Mandarin Dust. As much as possible, the only food waste we put in the bin is the leaves and pips!
Packaging
Where possible we avoid single use packaging and prioritise reusable materials such as glass and aluminium.
About World Environment Day
The theme for World Environment Day this year is “ONLY ONE EARTH”. It is being hosted in Stockholm to celebrate 50 years since the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme which was formed in 1972 at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Find out more about World Environment Day here.
CELEBRATE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY WITH SOME GOODIES RIGHT FROM MOTHER NATURE
Gin & Shrub - the new alternative to a G&T
If you love gin, and want something different from a G&T - try a Gin & Shrub.
If you love gin, and want something different from a G&T - try a G&S! Here’s how:
USING OUR READY TO DRINK SPARKLING ELIXIRS:
Pour some of your favourite gin into a glass with ice, and then top with one of our Sparkling Shrub Elixirs. Garnish using one of our suggestions below. Delicous! Everyone else will have drink envy!
USING OUR SHRUB SYRUPS
If you’re using one of our Shrub Syrups, follow the recipe below & tweak to your taste.
INGREDIENTS
30ml The Curious Cabinet Shrub Syrup of choice.
30-60ml gin
soda water
garnish of choice (see suggestions below)
METHOD
Fill a glass with ice. Add Shrub Syrup, gin and top with soda water. Stir.
GARNISH SUGGESTIONS
RHUBARB SHRUB - Mint, ginger, apple or rosemary
CHERRY SHRUB - Mint, rosemary or lime
STRAWBERRY SHRUB - Mint, lime, basil and/or cucumber
WHITE PEACH SHRUB - mint, rosemary, thyme
MANDARIN SHRUB - mint, thyme, rose petals