{recipe} Fancy Ginger Citrus Mocktails

This month, I’m trying not to drink any alcohol – mostly just as a personal challenge. (You’ll notice I picked the shortest month of the year for this endeavor.) I have found something interesting about myself: it turns out that when 6 o’clock rolls around, I don’t necessarily need wine or a cocktail–but I take pleasure in having something to drink that’s not water. Enter the fancy ginger citrus mocktail, which has become my nightly indulgence.

You can buy ginger syrup, but they charge an arm and a leg for it, which is crazy because it’s super cheap and easy to make, and it tastes better homemade anyway. It’s great to have in the fridge, because mixed with straight sparkling water you have fresh ginger ale – voila – which is a fun thing to offer non-drinkers, too. You can infuse the syrup with orange, lime, or lemon peels in addition (or instead of) the ginger – just be sure to use only the colored part and none of the bitter white pith.

And if you are interested in something a little stronger, just mix together all of the ingredients except the sparkling water, add an ounce of rye whiskey or bourbon, then top with sparkling water to taste. Come March 1st, I very well may be doing just that.

Fancy Ginger Citrus Mocktails
makes 1

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz sparkling water
• 3-4 dashes Angostura or orange bitters
• juice of 1 clementine or 1/4 orange
• 1-2 Tblsp ginger syrup (recipe follows)

METHOD:

• Fill 12 or 16 oz. glass with the sparkling water.
• Add remaining ingredients and stir gently.
• Fill glass with ice. Garnish with a twist of orange peel and serve immediately.

Ginger Syrup
makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (can be brown, white, etc – I like the way it tastes with raw/turbinado sugar)
• 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

METHOD:

• Put water and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook just until sugar melts.
• Add ginger pieces and let sit at least 4 hours.
• Remove ginger pieces and decant into a jar for storing. Cover and store in fridge. It will last a few months, at least.

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