You’re probably asking yourself, “What in the world is switchel anyway?”

It’s only the best drink option to beat the crazy summer heat! 

If you’ve ever read the Little House on the Prairie books, you’ve heard of switchel. Carrie brought it out to Laura and Pa when they were working in the field in The Long Winter. Although in the story, it was referred to as ginger water. 

Switchel is an old fashioned sweet-sour-spice drink.

Where switchel originated is still debated. New England, the Caribean, China? No one knows for certain where it came from. 

What is certain is this popular 17th-century drink helped the colonials beat the heat. Think Plymouth Rock Gatorade in a stone jug, minus the red dye #40. 

Its popularity continued among hard-working farmers in the summer when they were out haying, giving switchel the name haymaker’s punch. 

And today with all of the sports and energy drinks available, you won’t find a more refreshing drink for a hot and humid day when you’ve been busting your backside out in the sun.

Or for sitting on the back porch under a patio umbrella watching someone else work in the sun.

Switchel was made with ginger, a splash of tart apple cider vinegar and something sweet like molasses, maple syrup, or honey. The ginger made it easier on your stomach to drink a lot of cold liquid all at once. The apple cider vinegar cut through your thirst and left you smacking your lips, satisfied, and ready to get back to work. 

Switchel kept you hydrated and replenished your electrolytes long before we knew enough to be concerned about depleted electrolytes. 

I drank it myself quite a bit as a child, back when most kids my age were swilling Koolaid by the gallon, although I drank it because it tasted good rather than because I was doing a lot of hard work.

Yes, I’m saying I drank switchel before it was cool.

Dad would bring a big jar of it with us when he was cutting firewood down by the stream. He would stash the jar in the creek to keep it cold, and I would sip at it while I was busy puttering around in the water.

Eventually, dad would come walking over, drenched in sweat and covered in sawdust from the chainsaw and pull a nearly empty jar out of the stream. Oops! 

And switchel is making a come back. 

As we see more and more scientific studies denoting the importance of our gut health, switchel becomes a natural choice to add to our diets. If you are new to making fermented foods and aren’t ready to take on the almighty Scoby of Kombucha fame, switchel is a breeze to make. 

My dad’s recipe was a little heavy on the vinegar, so it really packed some pucker.

Finding fresh ginger where we lived when I was a kid was tough, so he always used a healthy dose of powdered ginger. This meant you had to give the jar a good shake before you drank any.  

I’ve adapted my dad’s switchel recipe over the years, swapping out his powdered ginger for fresh and using less vinegar. (Your tooth enamel will thank me.) 

The resultant brew always has a place in my fridge in the summer and often during cold and flu season too. 

Recently, it even made an appearance in cocktail-form at my 40th birthday party. (Don’t worry, you’ll get that recipe too.) 

Let’s mix up a batch of switchel!

First, you’ll need to gather your supplies:

• a 2-quart mason jar with a lid
  • I like to keep my switchel in a Grolsch style bottle when it’s finished; I prefer these in particular. 
• a fine-mesh strainer
• 2” chunk of fresh ginger
  • A note on your ginger, non-organic ginger is often irradiated, if you aren’t using organic ginger, be sure to peel it. If you are using organic ginger, rinse it and give it a light scrub, but leave the skin on.
• 1 lemon, halved and juiced, pips removed
  • If you want to get really fancy, you can zest the lemon first and add that to your switchel.
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar, you want to use raw, unfiltered vinegar with the mother, Bragg is a great brand
• 1/4 cup of raw honey or maple syrup, 
• 2 cups of hot water (hot like bathwater, you want to dissolve the honey, but not kill off all the happy little microbes)

Directions:

1. Finely chop or grate your ginger and add it to your mason jar. I prefer to grate my ginger with a zester as it does a better job of releasing the juices. (I like this one because it also does a fantastic job with citrus zest and even after eight years of use it’s still sharp, ask my fingers how I know!) 
2. Pour the lemon juice (and zest if used), apple cider vinegar, honey or maple syrup and water into your jar. 
3. Screw the lid down tightly and shake the dickens out of it. You want all of your honey dissolved and a little frothy tornado of ginger bits in there.  
4. Loosen your lid a little and let your jar sit out on the counter for 24-36 hours. This gives the naturally occurring yeast in the honey and ginger a chance to do a little fermenting and makes your switchel a bit fizzier.
5. Strain your switchel through the strainer into a clean jar or Grolsch-style bottle.

Store in the fridge for up to a month.

When you want a glass of switchel, pour half a glassful and top up with cold water, seltzer, or club soda to taste and lots of ice. Enjoy! 

Switchel is one of those drinks that you can play fast and loose. I like mine with a lot more bite, so I add a tablespoon or two of homemade ginger shrub, or I double the ginger in my recipe.

My littlest guy enjoys the sour pucker, so he gets a splash of extra cider vinegar. Not to be outdone, his older brother prefers his a bit on the sweeter side and asks for a little maple syrup stirred in.

You can easily customize to your drinker’s preference by the glass. 

Change it up too.

Try making it with maple syrup or molasses, or even brown sugar or agave nectar. Use a different citrus fruit; I really like orange in the winter months. Throw in a cinnamon stick or two or a few peppercorns when you make it. 

In the winter, heat it and add a bit more honey for an invigorating winter warmer. Switchel is great stuff when you are just starting to get a scratchy throat and feeling a bit under the weather.  

This fantastic little drink is starting to come back into popularity. I’ve seen it popping up in farmer’s markets, in swanky drinks at craft distilleries, and last Mother’s Day my daughter gifted me with a bottle from a cidery local to her. 

With more and more people opting not to drink when they socialize, switchel makes for a great non-alcoholic option to offer at parties. Much more interesting a pour than your boring club soda with a twist of lime. 

Keep an eye out for this delightful drink to continue to grow in popularity as our love of craft drinks, and fermented foods continue to grow. 

How To Make Traditional Switchel (Haymaker's Punch)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Try this old-fashioned four-ingredient hydrating drink recipe that used to be known as "Haymaker's Punch"

Print

Ingredients

• a 2-quart mason jar with a lid
• a fine-mesh strainer
• 2” chunk of fresh ginger
• 1 lemon, halved and juiced, pips removed
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of raw honey or maple syrup
• 2 cups of hot water

Instructions

1. Finely chop or grate your ginger and add it to your mason jar. I prefer to grate my ginger with a zester as it does a better job of releasing the juices. (I like this one because it also does a fantastic job with citrus zest and even after eight years of use it’s still sharp, ask my fingers how I know!) 
2. Pour the lemon juice (and zest if used), apple cider vinegar, honey or maple syrup and water into your jar. 
3. Screw the lid down tightly and shake the dickens out of it. You want all of your honey dissolved and a little frothy tornado of ginger bits in there.  
4. Loosen your lid a little and let your jar sit out on the counter for 24-36 hours. This gives the naturally occurring yeast in the honey and ginger a chance to do a little fermenting and makes your switchel a bit fizzier.
5. Strain your switchel through the strainer into a clean jar or Grolsch-style bottle.

Notes

Store in the fridge for up to a month. When you want a glass of switchel, pour half a glassful and top up with cold water, seltzer, or club soda to taste and lots of ice. Enjoy! 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Bee Harmony Brazilian Raw Organic Honey, 12 Ounce
• 
  Bragg USDA Gluten Free Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, with The Mother
• 
  Ball Half-Gallon Jars, Wide Mouth, Set of 2
• 
  Flip Top Glass Bottle [1 Liter / 33 fl. oz.] [Pack of 6] – Swing Top Brewing Bottle with Stopper for Beverages, Oil, Vinegar, Kombucha, Beer, Water, Soda, Kefir – Airtight Lid & Leak Proof Cap – Clear

And as promised the bonus cocktail recipe: 

Maple Bourbon Switchel

• 2 oz. good bourbon
• 2 oz. of your switchel concentrate
• Maple syrup
• Lemon rind or cinnamon stick
• for garnish

Combine bourbon, switchel and a drizzle of maple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a double old fashioned glass filled with fresh ice, top up with a little club soda and give it a stir, garnish with a twist of lemon or a cinnamon stick. 

Now, this is the drink you have when you’re done working in the field for the day. 

Cheers!

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