What's In the Wrath of Grapes?

Eater wanted to present a hyperlocal libation for Cocktail Week 2013 and turned to The Grocery mixologist Hallie Arnold for a beverage made entirely of ingredients found in Charleston.

Arnold first concocted the "Wrath of Grapes" drink for the Outstanding in the Field event on Thornhill Farm in McClellanville. Here, she explains the elements of the brightly-colored cocktail.

1. Lemon and Lime: These citrus trees bloom all over the Lowcountry. The warm climate helps produce abundant fruit.

2. Sorghum Rum: High Wire Distilling, just down the street from The Grocery, produces a rum from the Southern staple sorghum. Co-founder of the distillery Ann Marshall told Eater that they wanted to make a liquor with local flavor.

3. Muscadine Juice: The Grocery's chef Kevin Johnson brought Arnold an overabundance of the local grape variety, and the product was such a gorgeous color, she thought they should go into a drink. Arnold told us about growing up in Concord, N.C. and how her grandfather's dachshunds would become inebriated after they ate fallen, fermented muscadines. She called them "drunk little terrors."

4. Ginger Shrub: A shrub is a drinking vinegar used in soft drinks and cocktails. Arnold's version includes ginger, apple cider vinegar and sugar. This helps to create an acidity in the beverage. And, yes, the pungent root can be found in Charleston. John Warner with Spade and Clover Gardens, on Johns Island, grows ginger.

[Hallie Arnold at The Grocery]

· All Cocktail Week 2013 Coverage [-ECHS-]
· Outstanding in the Field [Official]
· High Wire Distilling [Twitter]
· All The Grocery Coverage [-ECHS-]