We don’t make a lot of mixed drinks in our house–perhaps an occasional organic lemonade with blueberries, fresh mint and vodka in the summertime–but when I was introduced to ROOT by Art in the Age by my sister, a food blogger in Boulder, CO whose birthday it is today by the way (Happy birthday, Megan!) and whose post on ROOT you can find here, I could not wait to start experimenting.
ROOT is a certified organic spirit inspired by a folk recipe for “root tea” which was introduced to colonial settlers by Native Americans. This alcoholic version of what evolved into root beer–or is it devolved due to prohibition?–recreates the pre-temperance root tea and you simply must taste it. History buffs might want to try it out purely for educational purposes.
I think it is a proven fact that everyone loves root beer so I felt that an old fashioned root beer and ice cream combo seemed like the perfect place to start my discovery. I created a cocktail concoction to serve as a dessert over the holidays that goes a little something like this:
All you need is some vanilla ice cream, a bottle of ROOT, ice, milk and a blender.
Put a few scoops of vanilla ice cream into a blender–just eyeball about as much as you would serve in 2 small dessert bowls–with 3 ice cubes, about 1/4 cup of milk or rice milk (just a few splashes is all you need), add about 3 shots of ROOT and blend until smooth. (I have a Vitamix so I am pretty spoiled in the blender department and it comes together in a jiffy!) This recipe serves 2, but if you are serving a crowd just throw enough ice cream into a blender for everyone to get a generous scoop (or a little more) in their glass with a shot and a half of ROOT per person, a splash of milk per person and 1 ice cube per person.
Pour into a fun glass like a martini glass to serve. You could rim the edge of the glass prior to pouring with some vanilla bean sugar from Savory Spice Shop (also introduced to me by my little sis!) or create a little mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and top it all with fresh whipped cream if you want to get crazy and fancy it up a bit.
I met with the PR Director when ROOT was exploring our area and you can check out Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’s blog post about their travels in Burlington, VT here and then pick yourself up a bottle at Pearl Street Beverage or order online through their website!
