shrub

“The Romans diluted acetified wine with water to make an everyday thirst quencher called posca, and vinegar has been touted as a cure-all in Asia and Europe for centuries. The practice was brought to the Colonies from England, where it was commonly referred to as shrub, a term confusingly used both for a nonalcoholic drink and for one mixed with rum. In the United States, shrub seems to have thrived particularly in the South, gaining enormous popularity with the temperance movement. Many Southerners still fondly remember a grandmother making up ‘raspberry vinegar’ in the summer.”

The New York Times, Dropping Acid, by Toby Cecchini, November 11, 2008