Dishing Up the Dirt

Strawberry Rhubarb Sparklers

Tumbleweed Farm strawberries are just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. I love eating them off the vine when they’re still warm from the spring sunshine. And while the berries don’t get much better than that, these cocktails are the next best thing and are a lovely treat after a hot day. We don’t grow rhubarb at Tumbleweed but luckily our good friends down the road have an abundance at their farm and graciously picked some for us. Of course we ended up inviting them over for cocktail hour so we could all enjoy these spring time beverages together.

These cocktails are a two for one deal because after straining the simple syrup you are left with a delicious strawberry rhubarb compote. The compote tastes great on ice cream, yogurt or my favorite-on top of toast that has a healthy smear of goat cheese and a dollop of the jam. However you chose to enjoy the leftovers these cocktails are a great reminder that despite how busy the season is for everyone, it’s important for us all to slow down and clink glasses with good friends.

Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm.

Strawberry Rhubarb Sparklers

Prep Time: 10 minutes    Cook Time: 20 minutes    Serves: 4

  • 2 stalks of rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
  • 1/2 cup pure cane sugar
  • splash of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 bottle of your favorite sparkling wine

Preparation

  1. In a saucepan combine the rhubarb, strawberries and sugar with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened and bright pink in color. About 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool for about 10 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press down gently with the back of a spoon to extract more liquid. Chill the syrup in the fridge until ready to use and reserve the solids in a separate container in the fridge.
  2.  For each drink add 1 ounce of the simple syrup to a glass. Top with bubbly and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide *Leftover syrup keeps well in the fridge for about 3 weeks *Leftover compote keeps well in the fridge for about 7 days


Leave a Reply

5 thoughts on “Strawberry Rhubarb Sparklers

  1. Hannah says:

    Looks so refreshing! We’re still waiting for the first strawberries in Colorado. When they start producing, I’m stealing my mom’s rhubarb and making these!

  2. Patti says:

    I really appreciate that you included instructions for what can be done with the leftovers after making the flavored syrup. That’s my kind of recipe

  3. Yankified says:

    Im a little obsessed with baking with rhubarb right now and your recipe for popping it into a drink is just perfect

  4. Kate says:

    I impulse bought a can of Underwood sparkling wine last week. This was the perfect way to enjoy it! And having the compote leftovers was a great excuse to whip up a little tart-like treat. Yum!

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