If you’re coming to the 2025 Calgary Stampede this July, you’ll find me live at the Kitchen Theatre—sharing the magic of rhubarb, one (non-alcoholic) cocktail at a time.
This guide is your backstage pass to what inspired the demo: a deep love for rhubarb, a touch of showmanship, and a whole lot of flavour-forward fun.
I bet you didn’t know rhubarb was a vegetable. Yep—underneath all that tart sass and pie-filling fame, it’s technically in the same category as celery. A dramatic, rosy-stalked, cocktail-friendly vegetable that doesn’t play by the rules.
Rhubarb is one of those ingredients that just shows up in your life if you’re from a place where it grows like a weed—in alleyways, in backyards, peeking over fences. It’s the kind of plant your neighbour asks if they can snip a stalk from, and the kind your grandma turned into jam that tasted like pure love. For me, it’s layered in memories: my grandma’s jars of rhubarb-strawberry jam, my mom’s rhubarb crisp with its golden oat topping.
And now? It’s in my cocktails. Every time I spot a rhubarb gin at the liquor store, it’s already sold out—and honestly, I get it. But also? Why are you paying that much for rhubarb gin when you can make something even better at home? Stick around. I’ve got you.
Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a perennial vegetable dressed up like a fruit, flaunting its lipstick-red stalks and unapologetically tart personality—but don’t eat the leaves. Seriously.
They’re toxic due to high oxalic acid content. Native to Asia and later adopted in Europe as both medicine and pie filler, rhubarb thrives in cool spring climates—just in time to stir up summer cocktail season at the Calgary Stampede.
Packed with malic acid (the same thing that gives green apples their bite), rhubarb brings a zingy kick and subtle vegetal bitterness.
Cook it down and you’ll catch floral whispers and a kind of tart nostalgia—no surprise, perhaps, from someone who once trained in Europe where reverence for ingredients runs deep. This duality—brash and delicate—is what makes it so lovable in both zero-proof and boozy builds.
You can play rhubarb sweet, savoury, or somewhere in-between. It’s a chameleon:
Zero-proof beauties with tea, verjus, or shrubs
Spirit-forward stunners using gin, vermouth, aquavit, or dry rum
I’m a bit biased. My grandma made rhubarb-strawberry jam that I can still taste, even though she’s been gone for over 20 years. It was sweet, tart, and full of heart—just like her.
My mom’s rhubarb crisp has the perfect sweet-tang crumble ratio. Rhubarb isn’t just seasonal—it’s emotional. It’s in my blood and my barware.
And let’s be honest: sometimes you don’t have time to bake. So you shake.
When I make a rhubarb shrub, I start the way my grandma would’ve made jam—by simmering chopped rhubarb gently until the stalks break down and release all that tangy goodness. Then I stir in equal-ish parts apple cider vinegar and sugar.
Some of it’s to taste, depending on your batch size, but I aim for balance between brightness and sweetness. Let it sit overnight to meld, then strain it out the next day. What you get is a sharp, fruity, slightly nostalgic shrub that tastes like summer’s more grown-up cousin.
Ingredients:
Technique:
Macerate rhubarb with sugar and salt in a non-reactive bowl for 24 hours (fridge nap).
Strain the juice, gently press the solids.
Whisk in vinegar. Bottle like it’s fancy.
Rest 72 hours in the fridge.
pH Target: 3.0–3.3 Shelf Life: 3 months chilled
Classic Base:
Spiced Remix: Add 2 cardamom pods + 1 star anise. Herby Twist: Add 2 sprigs thyme or tarragon post-strain; steep 2 hours.
Gin:
Vodka: Same as above, more neutral = rhubarb gets the spotlight
Aquavit or White Rum:
Snap a pic of your creation. Tag us on Instagram at @spiritofwench. Tell us what’s in the glass and what story it tells. Did your drink come from a backyard harvest, a breakup, a birthday, or a book? We want to know.
Let’s make World Cocktail Day not just a toast to the past, but a living celebration of what’s still being stirred.
You’ll Need:
Method: Build over ice, stir gently
Garnish: Rhubarb ribbon curl + micro basil
Flavour Journey: Soft florals, citrus twinkle, whisper of vinegar
You’ll Need:
Glass: Tall Collins, etched if you’re feeling extra
Method: Build over big ice, stir
Garnish: Dehydrated grapefruit
Flavour Journey: Herbaceous, bittersweet, unapologetically grown-up
You’ll Need:
Glass: Nick & Nora (or a cheeky vintage coupe)
Method: Stir gently, serve chilled (no ice)
Garnish: Edible flower (borage, violet, or whatever your garden gives you)
Flavour Journey: Tart fizz meets probiotic tang—think garden party at a spa
You’ll Need:
Glass: Chilled coupette
Method: Dry shake, hard shake, fine strain
Garnish: Rhubarb bitters hearts or lemon chip
Flavour Journey: Soft, tart, alpine-fresh with a meringue hug
You’ll Need:
Glass: Tall with pebble ice
Method: Build + stir Garnish: Lemon twist + thyme
Flavour Journey: Salty breeze, garden herbs, rhubarb backbone
You’ll Need:
Glass: Old Fashioned with large ice cube
Method: Stir 30 seconds, strain over cube
Garnish: Charred rhubarb + sage
Flavour Journey: Prairie smoke, tart honeyed roots, regional swagger
Serve light to bold, low to high octane.
This is your guide and your nudge to explore all of rhubarb’s cocktail potential! Make something delicious, make it yours—and maybe raise a glass to your grandma while you’re at it.
Cheers, Grandma P.!
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