A woody plant smaller than a tree, typically having several main stems arising from the base. Also refers to a fruit-based syrup mixed with vinegar, used in beverages.
From Old English scrybb meaning 'shrubbery' or 'brushwood'. The beverage sense comes from Arabic sharab meaning 'drink', which also gave us 'sherbet' and 'syrup'. These two meanings converged in English by coincidence.
The drink called shrub was wildly popular in colonial America as a way to preserve fruit before refrigeration - essentially fruit vinegar cocktails! This ancient preservation technique is making a comeback in craft cocktails, proving that good ideas just need the right historical moment.
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