Recipe for: Rhubarb sparkling tonic with lemon balm

Wash the rhubarb under cold running water, and dry it on a clean towel. Cut off the tough ends and remove the leaves (rhubarb leaves are toxic and should not be used). Cut the stalks into pieces of 2–3 cm. Weigh 600 g of the chopped rhubarb and set it aside in a bowl.

Place the chopped rhubarb in a wide pot with a capacity of 2–3 liters. Add 600 ml of water and 300 g of sugar. Heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring with a wooden spoon to ensure the sugar completely dissolves. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the stalks, until the rhubarb completely breaks down and releases its juice (the pulp should be soft and of an intense color).

Prepare a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth laid over a colander set over a large bowl. Pour the hot, but not boiling, contents of the pot into the strainer. Allow it to drain naturally for 10–15 minutes, then press the remaining pulp with a spoon or wrap the pulp in the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract as much juice as possible — a pink, fragrant liquid should flow out. The resulting liquid is rhubarb concentrate.

Heat 200 ml of water to a temperature of about 80°C (small bubbles on the walls, not a full boil). Place 30 g of fresh lemon balm (the whole bunch) into a jug or small pot and pour the hot water over it. Cover and let it steep for 10 minutes to allow the lemon balm to release its aroma. After 10 minutes, strain the infusion through a sieve and discard the leaves.

Combine the strained rhubarb concentrate with the lemon balm infusion in a ratio to taste — start by mixing all the liters (the entire concentrate) with the lemon balm infusion. Then add the juice squeezed from 1 lemon (60 g), and mix well. Taste the syrup: if it is too sour, optionally add honey (up to 50 g), stirring until completely dissolved.

Pour the syrup into a clean bottle or jar, wait for it to cool to room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator for at least 2–4 hours (preferably overnight). Cooling allows the sediments to settle and the flavor to become uniform. If you want to speed it up, place the container with the syrup in an ice bath for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Prepare tall glasses. For one serving (about 300 ml of the finished drink), measure 60 ml of rhubarb syrup and pour it into the glass with a few ice cubes. Top up with 240 ml of chilled sparkling water, gently stir with a teaspoon from the bottom up to keep the bubbles. Garnish with a sprig of lemon balm and optionally a thin ribbon of fresh rhubarb twisted at the end of the spoon.

If you are preparing more servings, keep the syrup bottle in the fridge and prepare drinks on demand in a ratio of 1:4 (syrup:sparkling water). Before pouring, shake the bottle well if the syrup has settled. Additionally, you can add a slice of lemon or a few mint leaves to each glass for decoration.