Who doesn’t like a cold refreshing drink on a hot summer day such as Homemade Ginger Ale?
So now you’re wondering, where in the heck did I come up with this idea? It came from a cookbook my husband bought that I found both interesting and delightful called “Lunch! by Gale Gand.” In that book was a recipe for Homemade Ginger Ale. After some experimenting with the concept, this is the recipe that my testers and I enjoyed the most.
Homemade Ginger Ale The Easy Way
Ingredients: Makes approximately 2 cups of Simple Ginger Syrup (10 12oz. servings)
- 1 cup of thinly sliced fresh ginger
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 cups sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 to 3 drops of pure lemon extract
- Cold seltzer water, club soda or sparkling water
Directions:
Clean and slice the ginger. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and stir to combine until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and continue to boil for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let the ginger syrup cool completely, allowing the ginger to continue to infuse the liquid. After the ginger syrup has cooled, add the lemon extract, stirring the syrup to incorporate. Strain the simple syrup through a double layer of cheesecloth. Discard ginger pieces. Decant the ginger syrup into a bottle or jar and refrigerate. The ginger syrup will be good for up to 2 weeks.
To make Homemade Ginger Ale you’ll need a 12 oz. tumbler. Place a handful of crushed ice or ice cubes in the glass. Pour ¼ cup of the Simple Ginger Syrup over the ice and then fill the glass with seltzer water or club soda. Stir a bit to incorporate then enjoy a great glass of Homemade Ginger Ale.
Notes: The ratio to make Homemade Ginger Ale, with or without ice, is one part ginger simple syrup to 4 parts sparkling water of choice. Obviously this Homemade Ginger Ale recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on your future needs. If you wish, you can store the simple syrup with the ginger pieces in the fridge for 24 hours before you strain it for a stronger ginger flavor. Even though club soda or sparkling water work well, I found I prefer seltzer water. I also like the added note the lemon extract provides, but vanilla extract will work just fine too. One last thing, make sure the syrup and the fizzy liquid is cold. It makes it so much more refreshing all around.
This Homemade Ginger Ale is such a fun recipe to make, and it takes no time at all, except for the waiting. The fact that it’s so much better than store bought is another plus. Better yet, make a few bottles and take it as a hostess gift for a barbeque.
Now, with the temperature soaring, it’s time I get on with making a glass of this delightful Homemade Ginger Ale.
Time for a glass…
If you enjoyed my “Homemade Ginger Ale,” check out the White Wine Lemon Sangria, Sangria For Red Wine Lovers and Peach Balsamic Bellini Enjoy.
P.S. Take a moment to check out and purchase some of the tools I used for this “Homemade Ginger Ale” below. 🙂