Shagbark Beverage Director Derek Salerno making the Shagbuck (Photo by Adam Dubrueler)
From politics to dining, Virginia has seen its fair share of shifting winds lately, where old guard is bumping into the new.
Enter Shagbark’s beverage director, Derek Salerno, who wanted to create a vodka drink better than the tired Moscow Mule. Taking the basic construction of a “buck” — any spirit mixed with ginger beer — he built the Shagbuck: a beautifully rounded cocktail with house-made clarified ginger and lemon juices, a rich rosemary syrup, Cirrus vodka and Oloroso sherry, garnished with a sprig of rosemary.
Photo by Adam Dubrueler
The drink’s nuance comes from its juices, thanks to experiments with a culinary centrifuge. The geeky gadget helped Salerno create a spicy ginger juice that holds its punch without chalkiness.
“I’m trying to bridge the gap of the younger generation that doesn’t drink vodka, and the older generation that’s drinking shaken vodka in a glass with an olive,” Salerno says. “It’s a really good meld between the old guard and the new.”
