Golden Ginger Cocktail: Sublime!

"Golden Ginger Cocktail," from Make It Like a Man!

As good a cocktail as you can get at a modern-day, hand-crafted, artisan speakeasy, and yet so easy to make. Be warned: this Golden Ginger Cocktail so smooth and easy to drink, you might not realize the punch it’s packing. But the best thing about it: It takes that wonderful whiskey-lemon flavor combination and elevates it so something sublime.

Golden Ginger Cocktail

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!
Makes

4

cocktail

I find it easiest to place an ice-filled glass on a kitchen scale, and pour the components in by weight. But you do you.

Ingredients

  • Honey Syrup
  • 5½ oz. (1/2 cup) honey

  • 4 oz. (1/2 cup) water

  • Cocktail
  • 1½ oz. rye (see notes)

  • 1½ oz. ginger liqueur

  • 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

  • 1/2 oz. honey syrup

Directions

  • For the honey syrup:
  • Bring the honey and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat (setting 4 of 9), about 3 minutes. (Watch carefully, because it will boil over if left unattended.) Off heat; stir thoroughly until the mixture is well blended. Allow to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
  • For the cocktail:
  • Shake all ingredients thoroughly with ice: a full 30 seconds if not an entire minute. Pour into a rocks glass.

Notes

  • Rye is essential to this cocktail. You can use bourbon or scotch, and you’ll wind up with something that’s OK, but the rye version hits it right out of the park where some lucky kid with a glove catches it on Waveland.
  • I prefer this cocktail on the rocks, so after shaking, I just pour the whole thing, ice and all, into the glass. At the Theater (see backstory), it was served strained, in a coupe.
  • A sustained, serious shake is essential. It will bring a slight froth to the drink and will open up the flavor of the rye.
"Golden Ginger Cocktail," from Make It Like a Man!

The Backstory

A friend and I recently had lunch on the outdoor patio of Theater on the Lake, a prime location within Chicago’s vast, Lincoln Park lakeshore. Gorgeous day, beautiful view, lovely conversation, nice lunch. AND … a fantastic cocktail. (Two of them, actually, followed by a nice, long, afternoon nap.) My friend did a bit of sleuthing, and figured out how to make this fantastic cocktail.

Social Learning

This Golden Ginger Cocktail requires a small bit of work in that you have to make they syrup and squeeze a lemon or two … but you can do these things in advance. Indeed, you could mix the cocktails without ice, keep them refrigerated, and shake them to order. (In that case, shake extra long and at a somewhat faster tempo, since the ingredients will be cold rather than room temperature. A crucial part of the shaking process, imho, is to break some of the ice down into the drink.)

If the honey mixture boils for too long, it will increase its volume by an astonishing amount and may boil over. If it does, it’s far easier to clean up if you do so immediately with lots of water and a tiny drop of soap. But it’s also dangerous to clean up immediately, because the stove will be seriously hot. So either take great care, or let wait until the stove is cold and work at it a bit harder.

"Golden Ginger Cocktail," from Make It Like a Man!
Golden Ginger Cocktail

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. Thanks, Prosper Circle. References: Southern Living. No, “golden ginger” is not Tina Louise in a platinum wig. That’s what I thought, too. It’s a cocktail. 

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34 thoughts on “Golden Ginger Cocktail: Sublime!

    • So, there’s a local distillery, Koval, who makes it. It’s a great cocktail, worth searching out some Ginger liquor for.

  1. Jeff,
    I am a sucker for ginger especially in drinks. However, I never realized there was a ginger liquor – I’ll have to look for that one. thanks.

    • The ginger liquor was given to me as a gift; I didn’t realize until I received comments on this post that it’s unusual, but now that I think of it, I can imagine that it is. This is a great cocktail, worth searching out the liquor for.

  2. Ah! A rye cocktail. We are indeed the same person, Jeff. Well, to be fair, I typically prefer my rye neat, but I would certainly give this a shot. (I see that bottle of Redemption Rye back there…that is a tasty one!) And I think we’ve got a bottle of Domaine de Canton hiding in the back of the liquor cabinet somewhere. Ginger cocktail here a come…followed by a nice nap!
    David @ Spiced recently posted…Skillet Beef Burritos

  3. This looks great! Don’t have any ginger liqueur on hand — can you believe that?!! — so I’ll have to get some. A lot of Tiki drinks are shaken, then ice and all are poured into the glass (and more ice is needed if necessary). Anyway, this looks great — thanks.
    John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Baked Ziti

    • Thanks, John – and no, I generally imagine you having the world’s most stocked bar!

  4. I love a good cocktail, especially in the fall. We’ll be having girl’s night in once a month starting up again (can’t believe it’s been a year and a half since we’ve had girl’s dates because of Covid) and this will be going on the list for us to try. Thanks for the recipe!
    Theresa recently posted…Apple and Carrot Soup

  5. Ginger liqueur is intriguing. I’m fond of anything with ginger so I’ll have to look for it. I have had ginger marmalade, ginger snaps, gingerbread, raw ginger in Asian stir fry, candied ginger, chocolate-covered ginger, and more, but this is a new idea.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    • Mmm, I love every one of those things! Especially chocolate-covered, candied ginger. It’s worth seeking out a ginger liqueur for this cocktail. It’s delicious.

    • Haha! I just call’m like I see’m. 🙂 Zucchini soup, and soup for breakfast, are completely new ideas to me. I love both of them! Breakfast is kind of a thing with me. First off, I rarely eat it. Secondly, though, when I do, the last thing I want is candy (which is what I think most cold cereals are). I love eggs and pancakes and the like, but I often wonder why we don’t eat other kinds of foods – like soup – for breakfast.

  6. Wow Jeff, this is one gorgeous cocktail! Super classy in appearance and flavor profile. Definitely worth that extra little bit of time to juice the lemon.

  7. This looks just lovely, Jeff! I’ve been working on an apple cider bourbon cocktail this week, which has some of the same flavors (great minds)–I did a ginger simple syrup for it, which I bet would be an option for this one instead of the honey syrup. But I love that honey syrup idea too!
    Molly Pisula recently posted…Old Bay Salmon with Peach-Avocado Salsa

  8. I love the look and sound of this cocktail. Ginger is one of my most favorite flavors in a beverage so having it in a cocktail sounds wonderful. Have never heard of a ginger liqueur. Going to have to look for that.

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