Strawberries
Fresh or frozen strawberries, muddled or blended for sweet berry flavor.
Origin
Wild strawberries grew across Europe, Asia, and the Americas for millennia, but the modern large cultivated strawberry is an 18th-century French hybrid of a North and South American wild species.
History
The strawberry commonly eaten today is a relatively recent hybrid, developed in 18th-century Brittany, France, by crossing a large-fruited Chilean wild strawberry with a smaller North American variety, producing a fruit far larger and sweeter than either wild parent. It became one of the most popular fresh fruits used in cocktails, muddled or pureed into everything from the Strawberry Daiquiri to Champagne cocktails, valued for its bright color and approachable, universally loved sweetness.
Flavor profile
Sweet and juicy, with a bright, slightly tart edge and a distinctive fragrant aroma.
Tasting notes
Fresh strawberries muddle into a bright red, sweet-tart juice with real aromatic complexity, adding both flavor and a vivid pink-red color to a cocktail, best when genuinely ripe since underripe fruit can taste watery and bland.
Substitutes
- Strawberry syrup, for a convenient pre-made version of the same flavor and color.
- Frozen strawberries (thawed), when fresh fruit is out of season.
- Raspberries, for a different but comparably bright, sweet-tart berry substitute.
