Last night K and I celebrated the two year anniversary of my move to Copenhagen.
We celebrated in our very own style – me puttering away in the kitchen and making a huge mess, K keeping me entertained while simultaneously checking football stats, a long walk in the rain to see the beautiful sunset and finally sharing take-out Italian food while watching a strange film (Sucker Punch – have you seen it? Weird…).
I don’t really have words to explain what the last two years have meant to me – but I will try in an upcoming post. Today I’ll just tell you about ginger, and how when cut into small flakes and boiled with sugar, you can create more deliciousness than you could have imagined. Ginger syrup can then be mixed with soda water and a squeeze of lime for the perfect homemade ginger ale.
And you can always add bourbon to that, if you’re feeling fancy.
Homemade Ginger Syrup
Adapted from Joy’s recipe ~ Makes 2 cups syrup
- 2 cups coarsely chopped ginger
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 cups water
Peel ginger with a potato peeler or paring knife. Chop into small, thin pieces – we’ll be using these again later!
Place ginger, sugar, and water in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and a half, until the liquid has reduced down from 6 to 2 cups. The boiling syrup will become glossy and silky as it cooks down.
Remove syrup from the stove and strain ginger pieces onto a parchment lined pan with fine mesh strainer. Let syrup cool slightly before pouring into a bottle to store. Then if you can wait long enough, cool the syrup completely before incorporating into drinks. (We couldn’t wait. Our drinks were delicious, but not very cold!)
Then we’re going to use the leftover ginger to make something AWESOME. But more on that later!
Ginger Ale Cocktail
Serves one
- 2 oz. bourbon
- 1 tbsp. ginger syrup
- Soda water
- Sliced lime wedges
Stir bourbon and ginger syrup together at the bottom of a tumbler until incorporated. Squeeze lime wedge into glass, and top with a few ice cubes. Add soda water to taste, and enjoy!
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I’ll be back later to share with you the next steps to turn your leftover ginger into a delicious treat!
xxx
Ginger brew
Yes! I’ve seen Suckerpunch, and it was super weird! Personally, I would have preferred to see her dance instead of those wierd fighting scenes,,,
And I’m so trying that ginger-thing. I loooove ginger! And my guy loooves his whiskey, so it’ll probably be popular at home
Can’t wait to see what we are using the left over ginger bits for!
Ginger candy and ginger syrup?! I made this right away and it is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Thanks for posting!
Yay!! I’m so glad you tried and loved this!! I’m still drinking ginger ale at home nonstop – it’s deeeelicious!! xxx