This episode, we talk with my friend Nikki Blank about one of the world’s most ubiquitous and time-tested drinks: switchel. This is a cocktail mixer and functional beverage that falls somewhere between a shrub and a tea, and we learn all about the wonders of switchel as we explore its history, its various incarnations around the world, and how to use it in cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.

In this interview, some of the topics we cover include:

• Where to place switchel on the spectrum of sweet and acidified beverages and teas
• How switchel spread across the world and became popular as “Haymaker’s punch” - literally an early version of Gatorade for all those farmer-athletes in colonial America.
• The potential health benefits and life-enhancing attributes of switchel, balanced by a healthy dose of skepticism about certain claims you’ll find floating around the internet.
• How to incorporate switchel into your cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages
• Some thoughts on No-booze November and Dry January
• The definition of an “EANAB”
• And much, much more.