9 Ginger Cocktails With a Spicy Snap
These drinks are sweater weather in a glass.
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Oset Babür-Winter
From the modern classic Penicillin cocktail to the beloved Moscow Mule, ginger has played a crucial role in beverages through the years.
Warming with an almost peppery spice, the 5,000-year-old relative of turmeric and cardamom was one of the first spices from Asia to travel the world’s spice trade. Though it has been used medicinally for centuries, ginger has also been a popular complement in food and drinks across countless cultures.
Related: The 10 Best Cozy Cocktails to Make This Fall
Whether it’s freshly muddled in the bottom of the glass, used to give ginger beer it's signature spicy kick, or turned into a syrup or liqueur, ginger is an essential ingredient to know how to use properly in cocktails. The pleasantly spicy kick of ginger adds dimension to a drink and is remarkably versatile, pairing well with a variety of spirits from bourbon to mezcal.
Here are nine ginger cocktails to help you understanding this ingredient's iconic place in cocktails, from classics to modern creations.
Dark ‘n Stormy
Julia Hartbeck
This simple highball combines dark rum, ginger beer and fresh lime. Predating the vodka-based Moscow Mule, the drink was likely created by sailors drinking in Bermuda just after World War I.
In 1991, Goslings Black Seal Rum trademarked the Dark ’n Stormy name, meaning, if the cocktail appears on a menu with that exact moniker, the brand must be used in the recipe. If you are creating this at home, any rich dark rum will suffice.
Smoky Mezcal-Fig Sour
This mezcal-based cocktail, from bartender and activist Ashtin Berry, gets a sweet and spicy kick from a fig-ginger syrup. This large batched cocktail is brightened by freshly squeezed lemon juice and a garnish of ground nutmeg, making for an especially festive drink for the cooler seasons.
Penicillin
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Oset Babür-Winter
This modern classic riff on the Gold Rush was created by prolific bartender and bartender Sam Ross while at New York City's iconic Milk & Honey. The drink combines blended scotch, lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup, and is topped with a float of Islay single malt scotch.
Essentially a whiskey sour with some aromatic updates, the rich notes of smoke from the Islay scotch harmoniously combine with the honey-sweet ginger syrup and bright lemon juice for a drink that will cure all your ailments.
Related: Get the recipe
Ginger Arnold Palmer
Linda Xiao / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
This favorite summertime porch crusher gets a zingy upgrade with ginger syrup and tea. Black tea and ginger tea combine with fresh lemonade and a two-ingredient ginger syrup, transforming this beloved drink into a fall or winter highball. These flavor profiles lend well to a spiked variation and can pair easily with anything from vodka or gin to a rich bourbon or Scotch whisky.
Ginger & Bourbon Cocktail
Ginger and whiskey is a classic combo and a common go-to no matter what time of year. But once combined in a mugful of warm, honeyed toddy, the union is transformed. Fresh ginger is infused to first create a ginger tea. Bourbon, honey, and a dash of bitters complete this peppery sweet drink, topped with a zest of lemon peel.
Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This sweet, sour, spicy drink from Hawksmoor in New York City, is a semi-frozen combination of gin, ginger and lemon, topped with beer and served in an ice-cold mug. It’s refreshing and complex and has been a menu favorite from the U.K. to New York City.
Cinnamon & Tequila Cocktail
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
It’s rare to see tequila in a hot drink, but the addition of warming spices like cinnamon and ginger helps to bring out the earthy qualities of the agave spirit for a special winter toddy. This drink calls for a reposado tequila with a little age on it, making it easily stand up to the rich baking spices in the ginger cinnamon tea. Agave syrup is added for a little sweetness and a garnish of whole cloves and orange peel adds to the aromatics.
Sparkling Cranberry Ginger Punch
Spicy ginger ale, tart cranberry juice, dry sparkling wine, baking spices, and a citrus brandy liqueur combine in this low-alcohol punch for big flavor, and a show-stopping centerpiece. Frozen cranberries, in place of ice, keep the drink cold and fresh thinly sliced clementines add a citrus zest and pop of color. Keep an extra bottle of bubbly on hand to top off the drink.
Spicy Whiskey Ginger
Linda Xiao / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Whiskey and ginger come together again in this cocktail using ginger in three ways: fresh, in syrup form, and in a ginger beer. Bourbon was the preferred whiskey tasted by Food & Wine’s test kitchen. Bourbon's sweeter flavor profile interacts well with the other ingredients while balancing the ginger's heat.
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