The best of Science Friday, 2019
Join us for a roundup of the favorite stories we produced this year, from the complicated sex lives of Venus flytraps to the origin of the five-second rule.
by Daniel Peterschmidt, on December 13, 2019
Botany at the Bar
Three scientists discuss the plant science and history of bitters—and share a Thanksgiving cocktail
By Gareth Cook on November 26, 2019
The Bitter Truth: The Taste Of Biodiversity
These botanists want you to make your own cocktail bitters with ingredients you’ve never heard of
09/27/2019
Excerpt from Science Friday - “Can conservation be concocted in your cocktails? Yes, according to the botanist authors of a new book about making your own bitters—those complex flavor extracts used to season a Manhattan or Old Fashioned. They experiment with an array of novel recipes using underappreciated plants found around the world, from tree resin, to osha root, to numbing Szechuan peppercorns. Ira talks to ethnobotanist Selena Ahmed and plant geneticist Ashley DuVal about their recipes, how you can make complex and flavorful tinctures for cocktails and other seasonings, and their not-so-secret ulterior motive to share the stories of how people have used plants—common and rare—for thousands of years. Plus, mixologist Christian Schaal talks about the art and science of combining flavors”.
S&R featured as HOLIDAY 2017 cover story of the inflight magazine of Southwest Airlines
THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITS
A DASH OF LIFE - A GROUP OF BOTANISTS BRINGS A NEW INGREDIENT TO THE WORLD OF BITTERS: TRANSPARENCY
BY TOVE DONOVICH
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN DEVRIES
December 2017
As the official inflight magazine of Southwest Airlines, Southwest: The Magazine is read by more than 5 million travelers every issue. The December 2017 Issue explores The Science of Spirits. From archaeologists to zymologists, masterminds across the country are concocting some of today’s most innovative drinks. READ MORE
BON AppETIT WRITES "Want a Better Cocktail? Find a Botanist"
BY MEGHAN NESMITH
Shoots and Roots bitters taste like an airline ticket around the world—and back in time.
MAY 16, 2017
tales of the cocktail writes that s&r is "Perhaps the most intriguing addition to the rising bitters tide"
These Scientists Are Harnessing Botany for Better Bitters
By Zoë Leverant Aug. 31, 2015
Perhaps the most intriguing addition to the rising bitters tide comes from botanists Rachel Meyer, Ashley DuVal and Selena Ahmed. Their company, Shoots & Roots Bitters, offers nine blends using native plants from specific regions, delicately balanced tinctures equally suited to mixology and wellness. READ MORE
S&R FEATURED IN EDIBLE MANHATTAN'S INNOVATION ISSUE
"SO THREE BOTANISTS WALK INTO A BAR..."
By Rachel Nuwer May 3, 2015
Each of their nine flavors of Shoots and Roots Bitters aims to capture the spirit of the place where their ingredients — more than 200 flowers, fruits, seeds, stems and leaves — grow....And just as the fictional White made the best meth in town, the botanists’ product, too, is arguably the most superior bitters around, easily outperforming the stuff cooked up by amateurs in its complexity and chemical harmony. READ MORE
S&R Bitters Rated as "The 12 Best Locally Made Bitters in the U.S.A."
S&R is featured in Vogue's "Harlem: The Fashion Friendly Guide"
"Carole Sabas’s Fashion Insider’s Guides are style obsessives’ go-to travel resources (...). This time around, she’s focusing not on a city, but a neighborhood so steeped in sartorial and artistic legacy, it demands its own standalone volume: Harlem. " - Vogue.com
Cultivating Flora And Fauna: 3 Scientists Harvest Plants To Create Artisan Bitters
Read the Food Republic's story on our bitters (8/5/2014)
Our Botany at the Bar Workshop for the World Science Festival was written up in Newsweek
Read Victoria Bekiempis' "The Science of Booze" article in Newsweek (6/6/14)
Conservation Through Cocktails
Are you ready for a jujube and hawthorn martini? A new company created by a group of ethnobotanists, including Ashley DuVal M.E.Sc. ’10, thinks so
Read the Story "Conservation Through Cocktails" by Aaron Reuben on the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Website (7/1/14)
Shoots & Roots Bitters was written up in Gizmodo
Read here for a step-by-step guide to making botanical extractions by Nicola Twilley
"These Brand New Bitters Bring Biodiversity to Your Cocktail"
A World Science Festival Blog showcases plants we use
An Herbal Tour Of The World In 9 Tasty, Useful Plants
Shoots & Roots Bitters Named a "Harlem Food Trendsetter" by Chef Marcus Samuelsson
Shinola + Paper Magazine + Harlem
Partner Rachel Meyer was featured on NewYork.com
“A woman who takes her day job and translates it into a tasty side business”
Check out Biz by Day, Art by Night: How 6 New Yorkers Balance 9 to 5 Jobs with Creative Pursuits by Linnea Covington