Ginger Tonic or Syrup--Recipe?

[kaleokahu]

Hi, All:

I was recently in a Caribbean resto in Vancouver B.C., and was served a drink using house-made ginger tonic or syrup. OK, it was a Shandy (Please, nobody bounce me, I think I'm really on the right track posing the following question on this Board, rather than on Beer).

I really liked it, not too sweet and quite zippy on the front of the tongue. I could dummy up a ginger-infused simple syrup on my own, but I'm wondering:

Do any of the Ph.D's of mixology here have a killer recipe to share that is maybe not so sweet as SS.

Mahalo,
Kaleo

[JMF]

I run fresh, young, ginger root through my juicer. Then add equal amounts by volume of sugar in a large pot, and heat up to 165F degrees to sterilize. then jar it in sterile quart jars. this is a great, fresh, not cooked tasting, ginger syrup. much better than the boil recipe.

[yarm]

This one from Imbibe magazine should work well:

Ginger Syrup

This syrup from Betty Fraser and Denise DeCarlo, owners of Grub in Hollywood, Calif., is fantastic in cocktails, such as the Sleepyhead, but it also makes an out-of-this-world ginger ale. To make ginger ale, simply fill an ice-filled glass a third of the way with the syrup, top with soda water and a squeeze of lime, stir and enjoy.

2 cups unpeeled, washed, fresh ginger, roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
6 cups water

Process ginger chunks in a food processor or blender until finely chopped. Place in a large stock pot. Add sugar and water to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook for one hour until a rich syrup is created. Strain the syrup twice through cheese cloth or a sieve into a large jar or bottle. Refrigerate.

[kaleokahu]

Thankyou, yarm!

[ferret]

http://www.pacifikool.com/products.html

[kaleokahu]

Hi, ferret:

Thanks. I've tried both the Hawai'ian and the galanga versions and they're great products.

The only problem is the asking price for the small bottles, delivered. Thought I might save a buck and have some fun making my own.

Aloha,
Kaleo

[Monch]

This one got my attention because my wife loves Dark and Stormys, but prefers diet ginger beer.

Problem is that DIET ginger beer is even harder to source than regular ginger beer.

Yarm, would you think that your recipe could be made with a sugar substitute...say Splenda?

Even if the answer is "I have no idea"...I may just grab up the Splenda and ginger and see what comes from it!

[MandalayVA]

I don't see any reason why Splenda wouldn't work in this.

[Monch]

Would I be able to expect thickening during the simmering, as with sugar?

I've never worked with Splenda.

[MandalayVA]

Splenda is sucralose, which is sugar-based. I really don't think it would thicken up that much if at all but in something like this it probably wouldn't make a difference.

[kaleokahu]

How about stevia?

[EvergreenDan]

I don't follow these sweeteners, but I thought some did not hold up to heat. You might add the sweetener at the very end, after the mixture is cooled. I don't see why it needs to be thick as ginger beer isn't thick.

Barritts makes diet ginger beer: http://www.barrittsgingerbeer.bm/

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[Monch]

OK, here's the report.

- Grabbed a hunk of ginger root and ground it up per the recipe.
- Measured the ground product and scaled the water to match the recipe...had over-bought and wound up with (4) cups of ground root.
- Replaced sugar with generic Slenda and followed the rest of the recipe

Wow....My first instinct, after the hour of simmering, was to taste the result. That is some POTENT brew!

But forged ahead and cooled it all down.

Final test was to use it as a mixer.
- Mixed a 1/4 cup of syrup with seltzer in a 10 oz glass with ice.

VERY tasty. Bright, flavorful...I can see this concoction replacing ginger beer in our arsenal. My wife was very impressed.

As expected, however, there was very little thickening...but that is fine.

I now have two quarts of finished product in the fridge...I'll bet this will go brilliantly in iced tea!

Many thanks,

[MandalayVA]

Glad it worked out. I may have to try this.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, All:

I'm making this today, and wondering: If I scale it up x1.5 (3C ginger, 3C sugar, 9C sugar), do you think the simmer time should be extended?

Cheers,
Kaleo

[Monch]

I scaled up 2x and left the simmer time at one hour....brilliant results.

As a sweetener for Luizianne iced tea......fantastic.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, Monch:

I agree. Didn't see your post so forged ahead with excellent results. This is ridiculously easy. Did two batches, one plain, the other with the juice of 6 limes. Both very good. The 1:3 ratio of sugar (brewer's) to water seems Goldilocks just right to me--not too sweet.

Now that I have 1G+ of light ginger syrup, I need more drink recipes!

Aloha,
Kaleo

[Monch]

Post those drink recipes here, when you find/create them.

I'm using this syrup to sweeten iced tea and adding to seltzer to make a ginger soda.

Also have added home-made spiced rum (vastly superior to Captain Morgan) to the ginger soda for a type of Dark and Stormy.

Later,