If you have been in the brewing industry for a long time or love drinking alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, you must have heard something about ginger ale. But if you haven’t, we will tell you about it.
Ginger ale is a popular carbonated non-alcoholic drink that with flavored with ginger. You can either choose to drink it alone or mix it with spirit-based drinks. The two significant types of ginger ale are the golden style, which is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell and the dry style (also called the pale style), which is a paler drink with a much milder ginger flavor; the Canadian John McLaughlin created it.
Ginger ale is very different from the ginger beer. Ginger beer originated in England in the 1800s, while ginger ale originated in Ireland about 50 years before John McLaughlin modernized it in 1907. While the initial ginger beer contained 11% alcohol, the modern ginger beer contains less than 0.5% alcohol. Modern ginger ale does not have any percentage of alcohol content. Ginger beer is usually brewed with natural ginger, lemon juice, sugar, and it is fermented with a ginger beer plant culture (majorly, lactobacillus). During the fermentation of the lactobacillus, it produces a cloudy appearance, robust-tasting, and spicier flavor, unlike ginger ale. The other ways ginger ale varies from ginger beer are in the way they taste and in their aroma. Ginger ale smells nice, and it is mellow, while ginger beer has a spicy whiff and gingery taste.
Many people love to consume ginger ale because of its health benefits. Ginger ale is an excellent home remedy for indigestion and motion sickness. It is also used to treat coughs and sore throats. If you are on a clear liquid diet, ginger ale would be an excellent choice for you. Ginger ale contains a large percentage of sugar. Ginger ale has 9 g of sugar per 100 ml.
Ginger ale is quite famous in many mixed drinks and punch. It can be used as a non-alcoholic substitute for champagne or beer since they look similar. You can also mix ginger ale with many hard liquors, beers, and wines. For instance, in Jamaica, ginger ale is commonly mixed with Red Stripe beer; it is referred to as a Shandy Gaff.
The best alcohol you can mix with ginger ale is vodka. If you crave a sweet, light, refreshing, and simple cocktail, vodka ginger ale is the best choice for you. And the good thing about it is that you can prepare it from the comfort of your home. To schedule your vodka ginger ale, you need a highball glass, jigger, vodka, ginger ale, and lime wedge. The procedures for making it involves putting ice in your highball glass, add two ounces of vodka, top off with five to six ounces of ginger ale, use a bar spoon to stir your cocktail carefully, and then go ahead to garnish it with a lime wedge before drinking it.
Ginger ale can be mixed with vodka, whiskey, beer, and other drinks. Ginger ale is a sweet and bubbly drink, and it adds to the sweetness of any cocktail it is added into. Ginger ale has existed for several years, and it has been mixed in many cocktails since its invention. If you mix it with any spirit, you will make a highball cocktail–it is a style of drink with a larger ratio of non-alcoholic mixer to liquor.
There are quite a lot of classic highballs that use ginger ale. Some of them are the whiskey highball and the Pimm’s Cup. Even Shirley Temple, the popular mocktail, was initially made with ginger ale.
Here are the top ginger ale cocktails you should try out. You will love them.
1. Whiskey ginger
Whiskey Ginger is one of the most classic ginger ale cocktails you can find in the world. This two-ingredient cocktail has been existing since the 20th century, and it is still very famous to date because of the process of making it is effortless. You don’t need to use cocktail shakers or costly ingredients. You can easily enjoy all the flavors in a sip of any whiskey. The ingredients used for making whiskey Ginger are Ginger ale and whiskey. To make whiskey ginger, pour 1 1/2 ounces of premium bourbon and 5 ounces of ginger ale in a highball glass with ice. Stir very well before garnishing it with a lemon peel.
2. Rum and ginger ale
Rum and ginger ale is another cocktail that is very delicious and refreshing, and one beautiful thing about it is that you can prepare it within 60 seconds. This is a cocktail you should taste. It is similar to Dark and Stormy, but the ginger flavor is more subtle and melts directly into the rum. To enjoy it, add a squeeze of lime into the rum and ginger ale. It is a perfect way of making a quick and easy cocktail with a bottle of rum.
3. Shandy
This one cocktail that everyone seems to fall in love with. It is tasty and has a low alcohol content in it. It originated in Europe, but it has spread to different parts of the world. Leinenkugel invented shandy. You don’t need to stress yourself over making this simple cocktail. The ingredients you need to prepare Shandy are Pale ale or lager beer, ginger ale, and lemon.
4. Pimm’s Cup
Pimm’s Cup is a popular British mixed drink. It looks like a bubbly soda, and it is similar to a fruity-flavored gin. This is an entertaining drink you should enjoy sharing with others. It is tasty, light and you can easily sip it. You need a few ingredients, and there is no need to dirty a cocktail shaker. To make it, you will need Pimm’s No. 1, ginger ale, lemon, and cucumber slices as ingredients for making this refreshing cocktail.
5. Tequila and ginger ale
This is a delicious cocktail. Ginger ale is a sweet drink you can mix with tequila. It is different from ginger beer being mixed with tequila. You can also pair ginger ale with the oaky and vanilla notes of tequila reposado. You need two ingredients to make this cocktail–tequila and ginger ale
6. Transfusion
The transfusion is another ginger ale cocktail. It is an excellent highball drink that is popularly served at a lot of golf clubs. It has these flavors: sweet-tart, bubbly, spicy ginger, and the musky finish of the grape juice. To make Transfusion, you need these ingredients: Vodka, concord grape juice, ginger ale, and lime.
7. Blue long island iced tea
The Blue Long Island Iced Tea is known for being a low-brow, high alcohol drink. If you make it the right way, it has a fresh, nuanced flavor and less alcohol than most cocktails. This blue spin on the classic utilizes blue curacao for its ocean-hued color, and it has an excellent citrusy flavor. It would help if you had Vodka, tequila, white rum, gin, blue curacao, lemon juice, and ginger ale as ingredients for preparing this cocktail.
8. Mimosa Mocktail
This is a ginger ale mimosa mocktail. This drink is so simple to prepare, and you can easily customize it for your kids or people that do not like alcohol. It has a balanced taste: citrusy and bubbly with a little bit of ginger on the finish.
9. Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple is a mocktail that is best for kids. It is not the lovely and syrupy version of this drink. This mocktail is excellent for anyone that likes a bubbly, refreshing non-alcoholic drink. Grenadine, ginger ale and lime juice are the three ingredients you need to make this mocktail.
10. Thyme alone
Thyme alone is one unique ginger ale cocktail that you can quickly make by adding 1/2 ounces of gin, 1/2 ounces of syrup, and a splash of cranberry juice to an ice-filled mixer glass. Shake it thoroughly and pour it into your favorite highball glass. Then, top it with ginger ale, and garnish it with a sprig of thyme or orange slices.
11. Southside Royale
Southside royale is a ginger ale cocktail that you can make with lightly muddle eight mint leaves, 3/4 ounces lime juice, and 3/4 sugar syrup in the bottom of a large highball glass. Add 1/2 ounces gin and ice, then stir vigorously with a long-handled spoon. You can top it with ginger ale and garnish it with a fresh mint sprig
12. Bourbon bliss
Bourbon bliss is one ginger ale cocktail that most people drink. If you intend to make it someday, all you need to do is, fill the mixer glass with 1/2 ounces bourbon and 1/2 ounces honey. Then, shake the mixture vigorously before pouring it into your favorite lowball glass with cubed whiskey ice.
13. Diablo
Diablo is another ginger ale cocktail that you can make very quickly. To make it, add 4 ounces of original Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, 1½ ounces of El Tesoro Reposado tequila, ¾ ounces lime juice, and ½ ounces of crème de cassis in a mixing glass and stir gently. Then, go ahead and pour the mixture into an ice-filled glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Conclusion
Ginger ale is a great non-alcoholic drink that can be mixed with almost any kind of alcoholic drink, and it will taste well.
Vodka ginger ale is one of the best alcohol you can mix with ginger ale. The taste is unique, and it is effortless to prepare. Try it out; you will love it. You can also explore other ginger ale cocktails that we listed above.