Strawbar Origin | Hand-harvested Strawberry Distilled Spirit
Strawbar. A unique strawberry distilled, organic and vegan product hailing from the north-west of Greece. Ever heard of it? If not that's okay. Throughout this post we will review, talk about, discuss the ins and outs of and mix up some delicious Strawbar focused cocktails.
Falling Strawberrys | Strawbar spirit Product photo.
Disclaimer:
This post is a paid collaboration between Smartblend and Strawbar.
Throughout the post I show a lot of love for Strawbar. It’s easy to assume the only reason i’m saying nice things about them is because they are paying me. However, that is not the case.
Whether a brand is paying me or not I will only ever recommend products I truly like and will only write about brands in a truthful way that adds value to anyone who wants to read about them.
Now that’s out of the way. Let’s talk about Strawbar!
What is Strawbar?
Strawbar is a vegan friendly, organic, strawberry distilled spirit. Unlike any other strawberry flavoured booze before it’s time. Strawbar is unique in the way that it’s a strawberry distillate. Made entirely from hand-harvested organic strawberries grown in the north-west of Greece.
They take these hand-harvested strawberries which are then distilled into a crystal clear spirit full of character!
The Origins of Strawbar
Established in 2018, Phi group set out to distil new and unique spirits from local fruits that are often overlooked and introduce bold, clean flavours to the bar, spirit and mixology world in limited edition quantities. Delicious, versatile and collectable. A must try for any professional or home bartender.
Strawbar is the first product in this journey of distillation. Distilled using an overlooked strain of nutrient rich strawberries that specifically grow in the north west region of Greece. An area that is currently experiencing a period of high unemployment and financial instability. The production of Strawbar supports and promotes the local produce and helps the local economy. Which brings me on to my next point…
Gimmie Strawbar | Strawbar Spirit Product Photo.
Sustainability
As mentioned above. Strawbar supports and promotes the local produce by using this often overlooked strain of Strawberries.
“We particularly wanted to use and promote the local produce that nature has provided while helping the rural economy” Says Maria Gougousi, The lead distiller of Strawbar Organic.
But its not just about helping the locals, It’s also the sustainability aspect. Whatever you’re distilling theirs always going to be waste. It’s difficult to avoid. How you deal with that waste says a lot about a brand.
Vasiliki Daikopoulou the Organic Chemist over at Phi group says “These tiny organic strawberries are very delicate and so we pick, sort and wash them by hand before packing in shallow trays so they do not get crushed. They are also very nutrient-rich and full of antioxidants so we are recycling the waste pulp and pips for use in a range of organic skin creams and scrubs. Nothing is wasted of these special fruits!“
You can find out more about Strawbar by visiting there official website here.
Strawbar Product Photo.
Where to buy Strawbar?
If you’re interested in buying a bottle of Strawbar for yourself, a friend, or mixing up some of these cocktails at home. You can do so through the below buttons
If you’re a bar looking to become a stockist of Strawbar you can do so by contacting them on their official website below.
The Flavour Profile
There's always a worry that you research a brand, become excited then once you receive it, it just doesn’t perform the way you thought it would. That was not the case here with Strawbar.
Below is my tasting notes on Strawbar;
Aroma:
The aroma is pronounced. It’s got a strong Strawberry smell with a hint of liquorice and anise.
How to drink:
Strawbar has a lot of versatility to it that works great in cocktails. Swap out classic vodka, gin and brandy cocktail with Strawbar and no matter what the drink; Long and refreshing, low ABV or hard-hitting, you will still pick up on that smoky jammy flavour of Strawbar.
Or, try mixing it up in a simple Strawbar and soda or Strawbar and ginger ale to soften the spirit.
The flavour:
The Aroma carries through to the palate. I suggest taking one sip first, swilling it around your mouth and swallowing to prepare your palate. With it being a high ABV of 40% It can be shocking to the palate with the first swig. It is not to be confused with a highly sweetened strawberry liqueur.
With the second swig you will be able to pick out all the subtle complexities in this product. It has a slight oily mouth-feel which coats the inside of your mouth with ease. Light spicy notes with a sharp alcohol kick.
The aftertaste is very much strawberries through and through with a smokiness flavour to it. Think smoky berry compote or jam.
Strawbar & Prosecco splash Photo.
Strawbar Cocktail Recipes
Now for the fun part. The cocktails. I was very excited to get my hands on a bottle of Strawbar origin and start mixing up some drinks. I had high hopes. The high standards I had after researching the product stood well after receiving it.
Having that big approachable and accessible flavour of Strawberry, but not being tied down to sweet drinks is a big plus. It means you can mix Strawbar in cocktails in a much more dynamic and versatile way. Which is the perfect word for how I would describe this product… Versatile.
With that being said, i’ve created three cocktails to showcase the versatility of Strawbar that are delicious and accessible for all. From the professional mixologist to the home-bartender.
The above video is my recipe to a delicious Strawbar Negroni. If you really want to see Strawbar’s versatility in action this is the cocktail for you.
If you want that recipe in writing you can scroll down to the bottom of this post where I talk more about that very Strawbar Negroni cocktail recipe.
Strawberry Garden | Cocktail Recipe
In this cocktail which I'm calling “Strawberry Garden” I pair together the smoky strawberry flavour of Strawbar with sweet and savoury aspects of tomatoes.
Strawberries and tomatoes make for a great pairing. At first, the sound of this can take you back. “Strawberries, pairing well with tomatoes? Do go on…”
It’s true. The pairing of these two unlikely foods go further than just the colour. They share common volatile molecules.
Tomato cocktails usually come in the form of a savoury viscous breakfast cocktail. Such as the Bloody Mary. This cocktail gives the tomato a sweet and boozy balance.
The perfect harmony between savoury and sweet.
Strawberry Garden Cocktail Recipe Photo.
Ingredients
50ml - Strawbar
25ml - Roasted tomato and basil cordial See recipe below
Method
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing glass filled with cubed ice.
Stir to dilute and strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish with a strawberry wheel and basil sprig
Roasted tomato and basil cordial recipe
Making this roasted tomato and basil cordial is a lot easier than it sounds. With just a few easy to get ingredients and an hour or so of steeping, roasting and mixing, you will have your very own homemade easy, simple, Roasted tomato and basil cordial.
Ingredients
300 grams of cherry tomatoes
400ml Water
300 grams of sugar
15 grams of fresh basil leaves
1 tsp Citric acid
Method
Halve your tomatoes and place them in a oven at 200°C/180 Fan.
Roast for 20-25 minutes until the skin starts to soften and darken and the tomatoes begin to burst.
Remove them from the oven and add to a pan on a medium heat hob.
Add 400ml of cold water and 300 grams of sugar to the roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil whilst stirring.
Once the sugar has dissolved bring your mixture to a simmer for 15 minutes.
At this stage, if you have an emulsion blender you can give the mix a quick/short blitz. However, this step is optional.
Add your basil and take your pan off the heat.
Once cooled, add 1 tsp of citric acid and strain into a swing top bottle.
Store the roasted tomato and basil cordial in the fridge for up to one week.
The Tiki Twist | Cocktail recipe
Orgeat is an essential to making classic Tiki cocktails. As is Rum. In this recipe I swap out the classic aged rum and almond combination for one of Strawbar and almond.
Topping that off with soda elongates the drink and brings all them subtle spicy and jammy flavours straight to the surface.
To finish it off I garnish it with a big smashed piece of almond brittle for aesthetic drama and a delicious snack to go alongside this tiki twist!
Tiki Twist Cocktail Recipe Photo.
Ingredients
40ml Strawbar
20ml Orgeat syrup See homemade orgeat syrup recipe below
15ml Fresh Lime Juice
Top Soda Water
Method
Combine Strawbar, Lime juice and almond syrup in a Boston shaker filled with cubed ice and shake well.
Strain into a tall glass filled with cubed ice and top with soda water.
Garnish with a big piece of toasted almond brittle See recipe for brittle below
How to make Home-made Orgeat syrup
Orgeat syrup is basically, at its core, an almond syrup. Orgeat is something you will be familiar with if you’ve spent a lot of time drinking in Tiki bars.
Where there's Tiki, there is Orgeat. It’s a Tiki bar essential. Orgeat is pretty easy to get hold of. However, homemade syrups always taste that little bit better. They have that extra love put into it.
Not to mention making your own Orgeat syrup gives you full control over the flavour. So with that being said, below is my home-made recipe for Orgeat syrup which you can change to suit your own taste.
Ingredients
300 grams Almonds
200 grams Sugar
200ml Water
2 Tbsp Orange Blossom water
Method
Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground. If you don’t have a food processor you can chop them finely instead. The end result will be the same, the process will just take longer.
Combine the sugar and water in a pan over medium heat whilst stirring.
Once the sugar has fully dissolved, Boil the syrup for 2 minutes then add the ground almonds.
Turn the heat to low and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes then take off the heat.
Allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, strain out all the almonds through a fine mesh strainer and cheesecloth.
Add the orange blossom water and stir. Funnel into a bottle and store refrigerated.
Toasted Almond Brittle Recipe
This recipe is for a delicious protein filled sweet snack, which we will use to garnish our Tiki Twist cocktail. Remember to make plenty as it will store really well in a tight fitting lidded jar and is delicious enough for you to snack on for the next week or until you’ve run out of almonds!
Ingredients
100 grams Caster sugar
50 grams Butter
50ml Water
100 grams Toasted Almonds
Method
Combine the sugar, butter and water in a pan on medium heat. Stir till the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up to high and boil for around 5 minutes until your mixture starts to caramelise. You’re looking for the bubbles to turn viscous. Once the bubbling mixture starts to thicken you know it’s ready.
Prepare yourself a sheet of non stick parchment paper. Add the almond to the liquid, quickly stir the almonds through and pour the mixture onto the parchment paper.
Allow the mixture to cool. Once cooled it should be rock solid. Smash into smaller pieces and you’re ready to eat and garnish your cocktails with delicious toasted almond brittle!.
Strawberry Negroni Cocktail Recipe
Next up we will be mixing up a Strawberry Negroni. I would just like to mention at this point that even though we will be substituting the gin in this recipe for Strawbar, does not make Strawbar a Strawberry flavour gin. Strawbar and Gin are very different products.
Strawbar is a unique distillate in no relation to gin. It just so happens that the smoky berry compote flavours of Strawbar work perfectly alongside the sweetness of a sweet vermouth and the bitter flavours of Campari.
With strawbar being a strawberry distillate and not a sugary strawberry liqueur. It works perfectly for creating hard-hitting cocktails and cocktail classics that will hold that strawberry aroma and strawberry forward flavour without the overpowering sweetness.
The perfect example of this is in the below recipe for my Strawbar Negroni. Bitter, brown and stirred down. With all them strawberry Strawbar characteristics shining through; Aromatic, fresh and clean.
Strawbar Negroni Cocktail Recipe Photo.
Ingredients
25ml Strawbar
25ml Campari
25ml Sweet vermouth
1 Chamomile spray
Method
Mix all ingredients in a rocks glass with cubed ice.
Stir till your preferred dilution.
Garnish with a dehydrated strawberry and spray with chamomile essence See recipe below
How to make the Chamomile essence spray
This chamomile spray works perfectly for this cocktail. It gives an extra layer of floral flavour to the drink whilst uplifting the entirety of the drinks aroma.
This spray also happens to work great for spritzing around your bedroom to help you sleep.
Better yet, run yourself a hot bubble bath, mix up this Strawbar Negroni cocktail then spray your bath with this chamomile water. Ultimate relaxation.
Ingredients
50 grams dried chamomile
150ml Water
Method
Combine dried chamomile and water together in a pan and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take off the heat but allow the mixture to macerate for another 30 minutes.
After your water has fully infused strain into a spray bottle and voila! You have your chamomile spray.