ROOT BEER BARREL
It was right here in New Jersey where sassafras was transformed from a folk food and medicine into a commercial drink marketed to the masses.
After brewing his own root beer, Childs states, "The final product was better than I could have ever hoped. It had a creamy sudsiness, a lingering herbaceousness and an earthy flavor resulting from the fermentation. When contemplating a sassafras cocktail, I knew I wanted to amplify the spice notes, so I used Jersey’s All Points West Whiskey, an Italian amaro known as Ramazotti, and a splash of red wine as a nod to the Spanish Kalimotxo apéritif."
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce All Points West Malt and Grain Pot Still Whiskey
- ¾ ounce Ramazotti Amaro
- ¾ ounce Tempranillo wine
- Root beer, to top (recipe below)
Root Beer
- 3 quarts Sassafras Tea (recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 24 ounces 1:1 demerara syrup (recipe below)
- ½ teaspoon beer yeast
Demerara Syrup
- 1½ cups demerara sugar
- 1½ cups boiling water
Preparation
Layer all the ingredients except the root beer over ice in a Collins glass. Add root beer to top and garnish with a sassafras leaf.
ROOT BEER
Add all the ingredients to a food-safe container and cover loosely so that air can escape, but no bugs can enter. Allow to sit for primary fermentation for 1 day. Next, funnel the mix into either glass or plastic bottles with an additional two teaspoon of sugar per bottle as a primer for secondary fermentation. Let sit for an additional 1–3 days, until the root beer has carbonated. The bottles should be capped tightly and placed out of direct sunlight. Be sure to check the bottles to make sure that too much pressure hasn’t built up. After fermentation, place bottles in the refrigerator. (Fermentation will come to a halt once the bottles are refrigerated.)
SASSAFRAS TEA
Fill a large stockpot with sassafras roots and cover with 6 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and let it reduce by half. Strain out all solids.
DEMERARA SYRUP
Add the sugar and water together and stir until the sugar dissolves
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