Cocktail & Other Recipes Cocktail Type Nonalcoholic

Ginger Beer

By
Kara Newman
Kara Newman
Kara Newman
Kara Newman is an award-winning writer, book author and cocktail expert with more than a decade of experience in the drinks-writing world.
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Updated 09/6/21
A mason jar with homemade ginger beer, placed on a wooden cutting board with a knife and fresh ginger beside it

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

At the now-closed New York cocktail oasis Pegu Club, proprietor Audrey Saunders’ Gin-Gin Mule rightfully earned a place in the modern-day cocktail canon. Saunders has described this gingery cocktail as a cross between a Moscow Mule (another ginger beer-based drink) and a Mojito (usually a rum drink but here made with gin).

While this refreshing cocktail certainly can be made with canned ginger fizz, it is even better when mixed with house-made ginger beer. And ginger beer is remarkably easy to make at home.

“Store-bought stuff has a peppery, more than gingery, profile,” says Saunders, interviewed in the book “New York Cocktails” (Cider Mill Press, $20) by Amanda Schuster. In addition, many brands can be “insipid,” she says.

And don't confuse ginger beer with ginger ale. The former has a far stronger ginger flavor and spicy kick than the latter, which is, essentially, ginger-flavored soda.

While Pegu Club makes ginger beer by the gallon, here’s a smaller-scale version to try at home. It takes a little time: Note the one-hour wait for the ingredients to fully integrate. But the reipce yields enough for several cocktails, since only an ounce of this gingery elixir is all that’s needed for one Mule. The recipe does not call for carbonation, however. To make it bubbly, add sparkling water, seltzer or club soda, to taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger (use a Microplane or a food processor)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
  • Sparkling water, seltzer or club soda, to taste (optional)

Steps

Makes 1 cup.

  1. Add the water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

  2. Stir in the grated ginger. Remove from the heat and cover the saucepan. Allow to sit for 1 hour.

  3. Strain through a fine chinois or cheesecloth. While straining the ginger, use a spoon or ladle to firmly press down on the ginger to extract more flavor. The appearance will be cloudy, but this is natural.

  4. Add the lime juice and brown sugar, and let cool.

  5. Add sparkling water, seltzer or club soda, to taste, if desired.

  6. Funnel into a glass bottle. Cap tightly and store in the refrigerator. This ginger beer keeps for two weeks.