The Adjaye Switchel
ABOUT
Taking as our obvious inspiration David’s Museum of African American Culture and History for the Smithsonian, David Moo and I came up with a drink based on a Switchel, the vinegar-based pre-Colonial-era thirst quencher that emigrated with the diaspora of slavery from the Caribbean to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, taking on various ingredients along the way. Goosed with a roasted banana-infused aged rum, this was a pointedly thematic study in one glass.
Recipe
- 2 oz. Roasted banana-infused Plantation 5-year Barbados Grande Réserve Rum
- 3 oz. Switchel
- 1/2 oz. Fresh ginger syrup
Shake, strain into an ice-filled double old fashioned glass, no garnish.
Switchel:
- 2 tbsp.Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tbsp.Honey
- 2 tbsp.Molasses
- 1/4 tsp.Ginger powder
- 1 cupWater
Mix together ingredients and shake well. Let stand for at least one day.
Banana-infused rum:
Lay four bananas flat on a silicone-padded baking tray and roast, in skins, for 20 minutes at 450-500 degrees. Allow to cool and peel. Crush with hands into a large sealable container and pour in 1 liter of rum. Allow to macerate at room temperature for 36 hours, then strain off the rum and filter out particles.
Fresh ginger syrup:
Juice fresh, peeled ginger with an extraction juicer. Add 2 cups white cane sugar to each cup of ginger juice and mix well until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate.
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