How to Make Ginger Syrup - Perfect for Homemade Ginger Ale
Forget Canada Dry Ginger Ale and make your own with fresh, homemade Ginger Syrup. It will elevate your Moscow Mule, Rye Buck, Dirty Shirley, Chuflay, Horse's Neck, Dark N' Stormy or whatever Buck you wanna throw its way. The syrup is also a key component to the Penicillin and the Khing & I.
I love Fentiman's, Fever Tree and Bundaberg ginger beer, but making a soda with sweet ginger juice is on another level. I realize this is not Ginger Beer and it is not as sweet as old-school Ginger Ale (as opposed of the artificially-caramel-flavored swill in a can that Canada Dry calls "ginger ale"), but what it lacks in fresh yeast and sugar, it makes up for in spice. This pairs well with a lot of spirits to make great highballs, but, in particular, the added spiciness really compliments Rye.
As a syrup on its own, it's one half of the sweetener used in the modern classic cocktail, the Penicillin. This is often a misused ingredient. If it's made with ginger juice and simple syrup, the ginger flavor is too thin tasting. When made with granulated sugar stirred into the ginger juice, it's the perfect combination to spicy and sweet. This syrup is also heavily featured in the Thai spiced rum cocktail from Pok Pok called, the Khing & I.
If it's not sweet enough for you, just add a little more sugar to make it to your liking. I prefer it on the spicier side, but I know that level of spice is not for everyone. I'd say, start at 4:3, ginger to sugar, try it in some drinks and adjust the next batch it from there. You may surprise yourself.
I made a large batch because I have so many uses for it, but if feel free to make a smaller batch, especially considering how much effort it takes to get the juice out of the ginger.
The effort it takes to get the juice out, is the part that really makes this an above average challenge compared to other syrups. If you have a juicer, it's no problem. A food processor is a little harder and dicing it takes even more elbow grease, but once you get that spicy nectar, you'll forget all about how hard it was. Enjoy!
Recipe:
4 parts Ginger Juice
3 parts Granulated Sugar
Extract the juice from 1 pound of Ginger. This should yield approx. 1 Cup (236 ml) of Ginger Juice. Stir in 0.75 Cup (177 ml) of Sugar. Bottle and store in the fridge.
Homemade Ginger Ale Recipe:
1-1.5 oz (30-45 ml) Ginger Juice
0.25 oz (7 ml) Lime Juice
6-8 oz (177-236 ml) Soda Water
Build over ice in a collins glass. Optionally, serve with a straw.
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