ginger

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

September 10, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

HEY GUYS! Sorry to have gone dark on you for the last few weeks but I needed a break. I’m back with this Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch because Summer is not over yet. Totally not ready for Fall cocktails or anything pumpkin related. Can we just wait till 9/23 for all of that? I want to soak up every last ray of sunshine, every warm day, and every opportunity to drink a fruity cocktail. Who’s with me?

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch, serves 1

2 oz. dark or aged rum

1 oz. fresh pineapple juice

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. ginger syrup

handful of sliced strawberries

soda water or sparkling wine

First, make your ginger syrup. There are a few ways you can do this. Here I go over how to make it in a blender and here I go over how to do it with a slow juicer. I love my Hurom Slow Juicer and highly recommend buying this type of juicer. I can pretty much juice anything and I love making fresh fruit and veggies juices. It really comes in handy to make syrups like this too. After extracting the ginger juice, measure it and add 2x the amount of sugar. Ginger syrup should be 2:1 sugar to ginger juice.

When your ginger syrup is made you can build your cocktail. Add strawberries to your cocktail shaker with pineapple juice, lime juice, and ginger syrup. Give it a quick muddle and then add rum. Shake with ice and strain into a highball over ice. Top with soda or for a boozier option top with sparkling wine.

This Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch is a great drink to end Summer with. It’s fruity, fizzy, and refreshing but also spicy from the fresh ginger. I love ginger in pretty much everything at this time of year! This is a one serving cocktail but can easily be converted into a pitcher drink or punch bowl for large gatherings and entertaining. Simply multiply each ingredient by the number of guests you want to accommodate and voila! You have a large format drink that will be sure to please everyone in attendance. Another great thing about it is that you can use virtually any spirit your heart desires. I’ve used rum in this recipe but vodka, gin, whiskey, or tequila would be fine choices as well.

Hope you had a great Summer and I hope you’ll give this Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch a try before it gets too chilly. Cheers everyone! xo

Healthy Drinks: The Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

January 17, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

Can we drink and be healthy? I’m not quite sure but we can try! I made this Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail with Fernet-Branca that’s super herbal and refreshing. Fernet-Branca is made from bitters and herbs, and though it goes down relatively smooth, the aftertaste kicks and lingers. It is, as almost everyone describes it, an acquired taste.

The base of Fernet is made from grapes and includes generous helpings of the antioxidant saffron, as well as some rhubarb, chamomile, and ginseng. With the rumored herb count somewhere between 20 to upwards of 40, much more goes into Fernet, and other ingredients include peppermint oil, sage, bay leaves, gentian root, and even St. John’s wort. Almost all Fernet recipes are secret though!

The combination of herbs, whatever they all are, settles the stomach, aids digestion, and people often cite it as a hangover cure. Originally, people drank the liquor to cleanse the system, sipping it following dinner. Historically Fernet has been used for health reasons which made it perfect in this Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail.

Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. Fernet-Branca

1/2 oz. ginger liqueur

1 oz. fresh beet juice

3/4 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. honey syrup

thyme, for garnish

Cut your beets into small pieces and run them through your slow juicer. If you don’t have a slow juicer you can make juice in a blender and fine strain. You can also buy it at your local health food store. Add all of your ingredients to your cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Can I be honest with you guys? I’ve never been a huge fan of Fernet. I have drunk it on occasion to use it exactly what it was meant for — digestion, upset stomach, or hangover. I’ve never truly enjoyed it in a drink and it’s never my first choice. This Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail has kind of changed my mind though.

The earthiness of beets goes so well with all the herbal notes of Fernet. Ginger liqueur adds some nice spice and sweetness to this drink together with the honey. Honey is a great natural sugar and is full of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. The lemon juice adds brightness and helps balance the cocktail. In addition, thyme is a great aromatic for garnish and also has many health benefits. Thyme can boost the immune system as well as aid in heart health, provide relief from stress, and is rich in anti-fungal and antioxidant properties.

Have I given you enough reasons to make this cocktail? YES! I hope you will give this healthy Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail a try. I can’t wait to make more fresh vegetable juice cocktails. Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to use? Let me know below in the comments below. xo

My Warm Take on a Summer Classic: The Hot & Stormy

January 8, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

We’ve been enduring freezing temperatures here for weeks now and frankly, I’m growing a little tired of it. When it’s cold and you have the holidays to look forward to you can persevere through it. After the new year, the bitter cold leaves me just that — bitter. I’ve been dreaming up drinks I can stay inside with and that remind me of warmer days. I’m pleased to introduce my warm take on a Summer classic, The Hot & Stormy.

Brilliant, yes? I thought so. The Dark & Stormy cocktail is simple, refreshing, and the perfect Summer highball. But its ingredients dissected make a pretty awesome warm drink appropriate for those really frigid winter nights too. My trick to the perfect Dark & Stormy cocktail is throwing away the premixed ginger beer and using freshly juiced ginger instead. It’s a little more work but the spicy flavor it yields is totally worth it. I add a 1/2 oz. lime to mine with 2 oz. Gosling’s Rum (of course), 3/4 oz. fresh ginger syrup, and then top with club soda for the fresh fizzy ginger beer effect.

I’m going to show you how I make ginger syrup so you can make my Hot & Stormy.

Hot & Stormy

1 1/2 oz. Gosling’s Rum

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. ginger syrup

hot water

lime wheel and ginger candy, for garnish

I finally bought myself a slow juicer. I decided on this one by Hurom. Yes, it’s pink which was a plus in my book but it also got amazing reviews (another plus). Their juicers come in lots of other colors and styles if pink isn’t your thing. This post is 100% not sponsored and I’m giving you my honest opinion: buy this juicer. Not only is the design amazing, it’s so easy to put together and disassemble, super easy to clean, and hums like the purr of a fat content cat. It’s SO quiet!

I peeled a larger piece of ginger, cut it down so it would fit through the top of the juicer, and pressed down. Like magic, the fresh ginger juice comes right out. I used a piece of ginger that was probably 5 inches long and it yielded exactly 4 oz. of ginger juice. The key to making ginger syrup is a 2:1 ratio. It’s 2 sugar to 1 ginger juice. Fresh ginger is really spicy so you need more sugar to balance it out. I added 8 oz. of sugar and stirred it until the sugar dissolved. You can heat this over low heat on the stove if you want it done faster. If you don’t have a slow juicer don’t fret. I detailed how to make ginger syrup using a blender for my Dark & Stormy Popsicles on A Beautiful Mess.

The hard part is over and now you can assemble your drink. Add all your ingredients to your serving vessel and top with hot water. You are ready to enjoy your Hot & Stormy.

Originally when I was brainstorming hot drinks to make on the blog I wanted to do a hot toddy variation. Ginger in hot drinks is so good, soothing, and bonus…healthy, but ginger in hot toddies had been done numerous times. I started thinking about my favorite drinks with ginger in them and that led me to this hot Dark & Stormy variation. I basically removed the club soda and replaced it with hot water. I’m so happy with how it came out and it was simple to put together. It’s crazy what a slight adjustment to a cold drink can do to make the perfect warm winter cocktail. I hope you enjoy my warm take on a Summer classic, The Hot & Stormy. It just might be my new favorite cold weather drink.

Hibiscus Gin-Gin Mule

August 14, 2017 by Natalie 2 Comments

With all the recipe developing for menus and blog posts, my refrigerator becomes a graveyard for fruit, herbs and miscellaneous syrups. I try my best to eat and repurpose most of it for cooking, smoothie bowls, or other recipes throughout the week but sometimes there’s a little waste. I’m implementing a new rule that if I make it, I have to use it! I made syrups for posts on A Beautiful Mess and Palm Springs Style last week and was wondering what my next cocktail would be on my own blog. Fresh ginger and hibiscus, does that work? You bet it does!

One of the first cocktails that came to mind was one that I learned when I worked behind the bar at Flatiron Lounge, the Gin-Gin Mule. It was created by Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club in 2000 and was a milestone drink of the 21st-century cocktail renaissance. It has inspired countless spin-offs and heavily influenced the use of fresh ginger and homemade ingredients in cocktails. It’s a drink that I still find myself making for people at Dutch Kills when they request a bartenders choice, “I’ll have something with gin that’s refreshing”, I pretty much immediately make a Gin-Gin Mule.

This cocktail is essentially a fusion of two classics, the Mojito (rum, lime, sugar, mint) and a Gin Buck (gin, lime, fresh ginger, soda). I’ve replaced the call for simple syrup in this recipe with hibiscus syrup. You can find out how to make ginger syrup here and my hibiscus syrup here.

Hibiscus Gin-Gin Mule, serves 1

2 oz. Gin

1 oz. Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Hibiscus Syrup

1/2 oz. Ginger Syrup

Mint

Club Soda

Add lime juice, hibiscus syrup, ginger syrup, and mint to your shaker and muddle. Lightly tapping the mint is sufficient. When muddling a good rule to follow in the words of Sasha Petraske is “bruise don’t abuse”. Add gin, ice, and then shake. Strain into a highball glass over ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and ginger candy.

I’ve always loved this cocktail but the hibiscus syrup adds a tart, fruity, and floral element that makes this drink even more perfect for summer (if that’s even possible). The sweet floral element of the hibiscus blends perfectly with the spiciness of the ginger and freshness of the mint. More than 10 years later and this cocktail is so good it still influences how I develop cocktails. Some of the most delicious drinks are so perfect just because they’re simple. Less IS more. What’s your favorite modern classic? Do you ever put your own spin on it? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Giveaway with American Juice Co.

January 15, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Hello Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I’ve teamed up with American Juice Company to bring you a fun giveaway to celebrate me hitting 4K on Instagram. To enter is simple, all you need to do is:

Go to my Instagram and like my American Juice Co. photo
Comment and tag two friends you’d like to share a cocktail with
Follow me @arseniclace and @americanjuiceco on Instagram

A winner will be chosen at random, contacted, and wins a subrscription cocktail box, just like the one I photographed here.

American Juice Company makes amazing, all natural cocktail mixers that are used in bars & restaurants all over the world and are perfect for the at home drink maker as well. They have a lot of really unique flavors like spicy pumpkin seed, mango, blueberry, peach, apple, lychee and ginger (which is what I used to make these delicious cocktails).

Sometimes ginger cocktails can be too spicy and a little aggressive. Thats why they made a delightful blend of fresh ginger, oranges, lemons, lemon verbena infusion and cane sugar. Super refreshing, with a little bit of bite, but not overpowering. They recommend making a Moscow Mule but I did a little twist with cranberry and fresh rosemary that paired perfectly with their Ginger Gershwin juice/syrup blend.

Cranberry Spice Mule

2 oz. Titos Vodka

1 oz. AJC Ginger Gershwin

1.5 oz. Cranberry Juice

1/2 oz. Lime Juice

Top with Perrier Sparkling Mineral Water

Fresh Rosemary

Cranberries

Add vodka, ginger, cranberry, and lime to a mule cup, add ice and stir. Top with sparkling water and add ginger candy, rosemary and cranberries as garnish.

Please go enter the contest and if you’d like to try any of American Juice Companies amazing all natural juices and syrups enjoy 15% off when you use the code “arseniclace15”. Cheers everyone and good luck!

ginger

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch, serves 1

Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

Hot & Stormy

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