Pumpkin Spice Shrub

Ingredients

• 1 small pie pumpkin such as sugar pumpkin or kabocha squash, about 3 pounds
• 1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Cara Cara Vanilla vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon



1.  
2. How To Make the Shrub Mixture:


3. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350°F. Cut stem from pumpkin and slice pumpkin in half. Scoop and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
4. Roast pumpkin until easily pierced with a fork near the stem end, 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from oven, set aside until cool enough to handle, then scoop out flesh with a spoon, discarding skin.
5. Add pumpkin flesh to a glass or plastic container. Add sugar, vinegar, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Place in refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
6. Pass pumpkin mixture through a food mill or sieve, pressing the liquid into a bowl. Mostly, you're trying to capture the liquid, a combination of pumpkin juice and vinegar, but don't worry if a little of the pumpkin puree passes through the sieve. Discard the remaining solids. Return liquid to a jar and refrigerate. Shrub will keep for several months in the refrigerator.
7.  
Shrub Recipe by MICHAEL DIETSCH, https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/11/pumpkin-shrub-fall-drinking-vinegar-for-mixing-cocktails.html 
8.  

To make the cocktail:

Wet the rim of the glass or dip it in grenadine.

Place sugar on a plate and spin the rim of the glass in the sugar.

To serve, add 1-2 tablespoons of shrub (depending on your preference for sweetness) for 8 oz. of chilled sparkling water, 1 shot of Vodka or Rum.

Serve over ice of blended if desired.