How To Spice Up Your Cocktails With Ginger
Learn how to make a ginger syrup to add some flair to your beverages.
It seems like every craft cocktail bar these days is overflowing with bespoke syrups, bitters, and cordials—here in San Francisco, there are even a few places making their own vermouth! As daunting as it may seem to do the same for your home bar, it’s actually extremely simple to get started with these hand-made ingredients.
Flavored syrups are probably the easiest way to start spicing up your cocktails, and they’re versatile enough to be used in non-alcoholic drinks and desserts as well. Ginger syrup is a great one, thanks to the spicy, earthy notes that balance out its sweetness. It goes great in all kinds of drinks, from a simple Old-Fashioned to a homemade Moscow Mule.
1 Gather Your Ingredients
Luckily, ginger syrup is almost as easy to make as regular simple syrup, the only difference being the addition of some fresh-sliced ginger root. For this recipe, you’ll need the following:
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 Combine the Ingredients and Cook
While simple syrup can be made by adding boiling water to sugar and stirring until it dissolves, ginger syrup should really be made on the stovetop to extract enough of the ginger flavor.
Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3 Strain the Syrup into a Container
Next, you’ll want to separate the ginger solids from the syrup. Using a medium-sized mesh strainer, strain the syrup into a mason jar or tupperware container. The ginger syrup will keep in the refrigerator for at least three weeks.
You can set aside the ginger for use in other recipes, like candied ginger to garnish all the cocktails you’re going to make. Like we said above, you can start by substituting the syrup and plain soda water for the ginger beer in a Moscow Mule, or branch out into shaken territory and zest up a classic Daiquiri. The only limit is your own creativity!
Now that you're ready to try out your ginger syrup, here are some suggestions to get you started from our friends at Bevvy:
• Moscow Mule: Spicy, sweet and best served in a copper mug
• Daiquiri: A simple and citrusy classic
• Orgeat Syrup: An almondy addition used to make tiki drinks like the Mai Tai