Happy Friday, Everyone! Ready for Labor Day weekend? Today we continue our new series, Last Sips of Summer. Our drink of choice is a tropical mocktail: The Ginger Twist! The beauty of this drink is its tweakability. A change here and a dash there, and you have a custom-made drink combining citrus fruit and ginger beer. Yes, ginger beer! Plus, it looks like something you’d drink while lounging on your yacht. Swanky yet breezy! Here are the details…
Before we start in with the ingredients, let’s talk a little bit about ginger beer. It has more of a bite to it than your typical ginger ale, and it’s fermented, yet non-alcoholic. It also has a bit of a kick, which is what makes it perfect for mocktails. In fact, people even use it in cocktails, such as the Moscow Mule. Ginger beer is often light in color, but for this recipe, I chose Jamaican-style ginger brew, which includes other flavors such as pineapple.
When it comes to ginger beer, it’s really a matter of preference. Some are sweeter than others. Some have bits of ginger floating in the mix. Some seem to walk the line between ginger ale and ginger beer (it can be a fuzzy line–even the ginger brew in the image below says “ginger ale” on the bottle). Try a few different types and see what you like best. If you don’t like punchy pineapple drinks, Jamaican-style ginger beer may not be for you. But this recipe will work just as well with “regular” ginger beer. Citrus + ginger brew = perfection!
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- the ginger beer of your choice (I used Reed’s Jamaican-Style Premium Ginger Brew)
- one orange
- one lemon
- one lime
- ice cubes
- crystallized ginger for garnishing
- sparkling water (optional)
Directions:
- Squeeze the juice out of one orange, one lemon and one lime. I collected the juice in a measuring cup with a spout, which made it easy to pour into my glass!
- Pour half the mixture into your glass (or if you’re sharing with a friend, divide the juice between two glasses).
- Add ice cubes, then fill the remainder of the glass with ginger beer.
- Taste and tweak as needed. Too strong? Add some water. Not sweet enough? A dash of sugar will do the trick, or more freshly squeezed orange juice. If you’re choosing a ginger beer that isn’t too sweet, consider making a simple syrup to enhance your drink. Mine was sweet enough and needed nothing more than fruit juice to enhance the flavor!
- Garnish with the crystallized ginger and serve. This drink makes 2 servings.
On Monday (Labor Day), we’ll debut our last drink of the series: a watermelon-grapefruit margarita. Until then, check out our Mint Flamingo cocktail recipe and have a wonderful weekend…
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