GingerBatchMake aheadLow sugar
Homemade Ginger Ale
Real ginger, lemon and soda. Once you've made it, the shop-bought kind tastes like sugar water.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Serves
- 8
- Glass
- Highball
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
- 1 cup peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice per glass
- Soda water, to top
- Lime wedge, to garnish
Method
- 1Simmer the ginger, water and sugar for 10 minutes to make a ginger syrup, then leave to cool for 30 minutes.
- 2Strain, pressing the ginger firmly to get everything out. It keeps refrigerated for about three weeks.
- 3To build a glass: 1 oz ginger syrup, 0.5 oz lemon juice, ice, and 4 oz soda water.
- 4Stir once and garnish with lime.
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Notes
- Don't peel the ginger too fastidiously — most of the flavour sits just under the skin.
- For real heat, add a pinch of cayenne to the syrup while it simmers.
- The syrup is the base for a mule, a shandy, or a hot lemon and ginger.
Common questions
What's the difference between ginger ale and ginger beer?
Ginger ale is a flavoured soda; ginger beer is brewed, much spicier and less sweet. This recipe sits between the two — sharper than commercial ginger ale because it's made with real ginger.
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