Ginger ale with verbena
1 serving
655 minutes
Ginger ale with verbena is a refreshing, spicy drink with subtle citrus and floral notes. Its history traces back to European cuisine, where the combination of ginger and lemon verbena was used to create aromatic elixirs. The ale's flavor balances the sweetness of cane sugar, the spiciness of ginger, and the slight tartness of lemon juice. Yeast adds a light fizziness, making it truly refreshing. This drink is perfect as a standalone refreshing elixir or as a base for cocktails when paired with gin, vodka, or whiskey. Served chilled with ice and fresh verbena leaves that reveal its unique aroma, it's a wonderful choice for summer evenings or cozy gatherings, surprising with its depth of flavor and elegant simplicity in preparation.
1
For preparation, you need a very small amount of nutmeg. Take a zester for citrus and grate the nutmeg a couple of times — this amount will be quite enough.
- Nutmeg: pinch
2
Mix sugar and water in a pot and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pot from heat, then add ginger, lemon juice, pepper, nutmeg, lemon verbena leaves (if using), and salt. Let it steep for at least one hour.
- Cane sugar: 0.8 glass
- Water: 2 glasss
- Grated ginger: 1 tablespoon
- Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
- Black peppercorns: 8 pieces
- Nutmeg: pinch
- Lemon Verbena: 15 pieces
- Salt: 0.1 teaspoon
3
Place a crow on the bottle and pour the liquid into it. Fill the remaining part of the bottle with water, leaving a few centimeters at the top. Add yeast.
- Water: 2 glasss
- Wine yeast: 0.3 teaspoon
4
Close the bottle tightly, let the drink steep in a dark place at room temperature for about 48 hours. Open the cap of the finished drink very slowly to release the pressure. If you don't want the contents to end up on the floor, it's better to open it gradually, releasing a few millimeters and then waiting about a minute.
5
Open the bottle and strain the contents through a sieve into glasses filled with ice. Before serving, you can add a couple of leaves of lemon verbena to the ginger ale.
- Lemon Verbena: 15 pieces
6
If you are not going to drink the ginger ale right away, put the bottle in the fridge after 48 hours. The strained drink is ready to consume. You can make a cocktail from it: it pairs well with strong alcohol like gin, vodka, or whiskey.