I love the taste of ginger and had been thinking of picking up a bottle of ginger liqueur for a while (Domain de Canton in particular) to see what kinds of alcoholic taste fantasies I could fulfill (get your mind out of the gutter, it’s just a drink). After almost depleting the contents of a bottle, I think I came up with two good drinks, both of which I’ll discuss here. So, this will be a two-for-one recipe post. I’ll throw in the second one for free 🙂
I’ve named the first drink, East Meets West. It’s two primary ingredients are Ginger Liqueur and Bourbon. It goes like this:
- 1 1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur (I used Domaine de Canton – readily available)
- 1 oz of Bourbon (I used Bulleit, but pick your favorite)
- 1/4 oz Lemon Juice (fresh is always best, but I’m lazy)
- 1 slice of fresh ginger
- Lemon peel garnish
Don’t add ice to your shaker just yet. Pour the lemon juice in the shaker and add a slice of fresh ginger. Muddle the ginger slice a bit. You don’t have to smash it to a pulp, just get the juices out of it. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and now some ice. Shake, strain and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon. Ahhh.
If it’s too sweet for you, up the lemon juice a little, but not much.
Today’s bonus cocktail is the Ginger Tequila Thing. Maybe Dave can come up with a better name, after knocking down the better part of a bottle of Ginger Liqueur, my creativity is shot. The GTT is similar to East Meets West, but uses Tequila and a slightly different balance of ingredients because the tastes of Tequila and Bourbon cut through the Ginger differently.
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila (I used Reposado)
- 1 1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur (I used Domaine de Canton)
- 1/4 oz Lime Juice
- 1 slice of fresh ginger
- Lemon peel or wedge garnish
As with the East Meets West, pour the lime juice into the shaker without ice and muddle the ginger slice with the lime. Again, you don’t need to spend a lot of time here, just get the juices out of it. Then add the other ingredients and some ice. Shake, strain and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon.
I had tried other bitters with these drinks. Amari changed the texture too much and Angostura/Peychaud’s/Orange bitters didn’t have enough punch. Campari/Cynar/Aperol/etc. were overwhelming. Sometimes, just some bitter fruit is perfect.
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