THE GINGER CRUSADER:
How a mixer conquers
the bar world.

Bar owner poll: Do you bartenders mix drinks with Ginger beer? If yes: Congratulations! If no: Time to wake up and smell the ginger root, granddad? Here’s the story behind the ginger mania.

From Sydney to LA, from Rio de Janeiro to Moscow: It’s an epidemic – Ginger beer is everywhere. How did it get, literally, on everybody’s lips? And where did it come from? Let’s have a look in the back mirror.

Ginger beer is a type of carbonated alcoholic beverage or soft drink, flavored primarily with ginger (duh), lemon and sugar. It originated in England in the mid 1700s, and reached its peak of popularity in the early 1900s.The original recipe requires only ginger, sugar, and water, to which is added a gelatinous substance called "ginger beer plant". Fermentation over a few days turns the mixture into ginger beer. Lemon may be added.

GUNNER (Australia)
1 part ABSOLUT VODKA
½ bottle of Ginger Beer
½ bottle of Lemon Lime and Bitters
1 sprig of mint to garnish

Ginger beer may used to be mixed with beer and with rum to make a drink, originally from Bermuda, called Dark and Stormy. A few more recipes were developed among the bar way, but the most famous recipe must have been the Moscow Mule, invented in 1946. Today the recipes are endless with Ginger Beer – every bar has its own favorites. Which one’s yours?

Place ice and vodka in a highball glass. Pour Ginger Beer followed by Lemon Lime and Bitters into the glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve ice cold!
Summer is saved!