11 Ginger Drinks to Make at Home

Warmly spicy and aromatic, ginger is an inviting way to zip up your drink routine.

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Updated November 02, 2024
The Number 8, a ginger liqueur-based cocktail in a Collins glass with a long twist of grapefruit peel.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

If a drink has ginger in it, chances are we're probably fans. Rich bourbon and ginger? Oh yeah. Spicy ginger and rum? Delicious. Tart citrus and warming ginger? Always love that combination. We like drinks with fresh ginger, with ginger syrup, and spiked with ginger liqueur. Today, we're sharing 11 recipes for ginger-spiced fall drinking inspiration.

Grapefruit and Ginger Sparkler

Grapefruit and ginger sparkler in a flute garnished with a grapefruit segment.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This is the kind of easy recipe you can memorize for mixing up whenever you feel a little festive. Made with Prosecco or other sparkling wine, it's flavored with fresh grapefruit juice and Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur.

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Pom Pomme

Pom Pomme

Serious Eats / Autumn Giles

All your fall classics come together in this four-ingredient drink: hard apple cider, apple brandy, vivid pomegranate juice, and ginger liqueur. The hue is gorgeous and the mixing's easy.

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Italian Buck

An Italian Buck in a Collins glass garnished with a lime wheel. Ginger beer and Cynar bottles are out of focus in the background.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The Italian Buck is basically a Dark 'n Stormy for weirdos, a not-so-straightforward fizzy cocktail for those of us who like to drink a little off the beaten path. It's gingery-spicy, sweet-tart, and bracingly bitter. The base of the drink—the amaro element—comes from a mix of orangey Montenegro and vegetal Cynar. 

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Southern Baptist

Southern Baptist, a ginger-based cocktail in a coupe with a twist of lime peel.

Serious Eats / Wes Rowe

Lots of lime makes this rye drink refreshing, while fresh ginger syrup accentuates the whiskey's spice. Ever since we tasted this drink from Sother Teague of Amor y Amargo in NYC, it's been a favorite.

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The Domo Arigato

Three glasses of the Domo Arigato cocktail next to a metal ice cube tray.

Serious Eats

This mezcal-based cocktail features fresh ginger juice, lime, and an interesting ingredient to bring out the earthiness in the mezcal: A few drops of sesame oil. That may sound like an odd ingredient for a cocktail, but this fantastic drink, created by Ran Duan of the Baldwin Bar at Sichuan Garden in Woburn, Massachusetts, is delicately spicy, tart, and just subtly savory.

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Mango Shandy With Chile, Ginger, and Lime

A mango shandy with ginger and jalapeno in a Collins glass, with a lime wheel on the rim.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This is a complex shandy: It's refreshing, crisp, and sweet with a little heat and spice from ginger and jalapeño. You'll want to make more than one batch to share with friends in summer.

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No. 8

A Collins glass of No. 8, a gingery riff on a paloma.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

We love the King's Ginger, which is a pungent and potent ginger liqueur. After you've scored a bottle, we recommend this recipe, which calls for mixing the gingery liqueur with fresh lime and grapefruit, plus mezcal and orange bitters.

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Dark and Stormy Julep Cocktail

A Dark and Stormy julep cocktail in a frosted silver julep cup, garnished with mint sprigs

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This twist on a traditional julep incorporates the flavors of a Dark and Stormy cocktail. Fresh muddled ginger gives this a spicy kick, and maple syrup and rum combine to give this cocktail a little sweetness. You might want this in your hand come Derby time.

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Bermuda Black

A Bermuda Black cocktail garnished with a lime wheel and a chunk of ginger.

Serious Eats / Jessica Leibowitz

This is no wimpy Dark 'n Stormy. Instead, this cocktail recipe from the Wayland in NYC uses racy ginger juice and two kinds of rum, then adds bubbles with chocolatey dark beer instead of soda.

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Homemade Ginger Beer

A mug of ginger beer on a table with ginger root and a pile of limes.

Serious Eats / Peter Reed

You can brew your own ginger soda using fresh ginger and lime, carbonated using a little Champagne yeast. The process takes about 2 days, but we promise it's worth it.

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DIY Ginger Liqueur

A bottle of homemade ginger liqueur next to a knob of fresh ginger.

Serious Eats / Liam Boylan

The beauty of making your own liqueurs is that you can customize them to your own taste. You can play with different spice combinations (try a little cardamom or even lemongrass) and even sub out some of the brandy for a little whiskey.

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