Farmers Market Bounty #2: Rhubarb

I've always loved rhubarb, that curious fruit/veggie that whose stalk resembles red celery. I always think of both my parents when I buy rhubarb as my dad loved growing it in our small garden in Pittsburgh and my mom made wonderful rhubarb-strawberry sauce as well as pie.
This year I came upon a recipe on the Food52 site for a wonderful summer cocktail made with Rhubarb simple syrup, called Rhubarb and Rose Ramos Gin Fizz. I don't use their recipe for the simple syrup though, finding another that I prefer (though I can't remember which site I found the syrup recipe on).
The drink is a perfect sip of summer! Enjoy.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

makes between 1-2 cups liquid

• 4 cups rhubarb, washed and trimmed and cut into 1/2 pieces (about 4 medium large stalks)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of cream of tartar

1. Combine the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. 
2. Add the rhubarb and simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. The rhubarb will break down into thin fibers.
3. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer, pressing with the back of a spoon until all the juice is released. You can save the remaining solids and serve them over ice cream or stirred into yogurt. The juice is the simple syrup. I store it in a mason jar in my refrigerator, though I'm not sure it has to be refrigerated since this recipe follows the method I've given earlier (long simmer time and cream of tartar) that has an extended shelf life.

Rhubarb & Rose Ramos Gin Fizz Food52 link to recipe

The Food52 recipe recommends serving this in a tall glass but I prefer either a martini glass or my grandmother's lovely cut glass goblet as pictured above. Also the recipe says it serve one, but if you serve it in a martini glass it will serve 2 as written.

• 2 ounces London dry gin
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 2 ounces rhubarb syrup
• 1 ounce heavy cream
• 1 or 2 drops rosewater (Wegmans carries this)
• 1 egg white (I used the pasturized refrigerated egg whites, using 1/4 cup for one egg white and it worked fine)
• ice
• soda water

Combine all the ingredients except ice and soda water in a cocktail shaker (mason jar works well too!) and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Then add ice to shaker and shake another 30 seconds. Strain into chilled glass and top with a bit of the soda.