5 Ginger Varieties For Bartenders: Choosing The Best Type For Making Cocktails
Of the different spices that are incorporated in mixology for blending cocktails, ginger remains a clear favourite among many mixologists. This spice extracted from under the earth is complete with spicy, sharp, zingy and earthy tastes which not only add more flavour to cocktails but also infuse them with more depth.
Different varieties of ginger are filled with multiple tasting notes and, which ginger to add to cocktails depends upon the flavours that those blends are meant to deliver. Evidently, for a mixology enthusiast or bartender keen on working with ginger as an operative ingredient in crafting drinks, understanding its different types and tasting notes becomes significant for using it in mixology recipes.
Read on below to know more about some of the ginger varieties that can be added to cocktails and how to choose the best type of this spice according to the blend being prepared:
Young Or Spring Ginger
One of the most widely used ginger varieties in cocktail concoctions is a young ginger or spring ginger. This spice is converted into syrups and ginger juice and generally carries a mild spiciness and light flavour. Such ginger is used as a garnish so that ginger shavings or slices can be chewed on for an unexpected spicy, crispy textural element in drinks. Cocktails complete with lighter and crisper flavours such as a classic moscow mule made using 30 ml Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice are generally topped off with 45 ml ginger beer and 4-5 fresh spring ginger shavings.
Thai Ginger Or Galangal
Most culinary enthusiasts are familiar with this ginger variety which is often used for making soups and broths. Thai ginger or galangal has a pronounced earthy and umami flavour which builds very distinct, deep notes when added to warm drinks. This peppery and slightly spicier ginger variety can be used in the preparation of spicy margaritas made using 30 ml Don Julio Blanco Tequila or any other premium tequila of choice. Galangal can be introduced in these drinks through an herbal liqueur infused with this spice.
Jamaican Ginger
Another ginger variety used widely in cocktails, known especially for its robust spiciness and sharp flavours is the Jamaican ginger. Most times it is incorporated in cocktails which contain similar smoky, spicy and potent flavours such as the penicillin cocktail crafted using quality scotch like the 30 ml Johnny Walker Black Label or any other premium whisky of choice. Jamaican ginger brings in depth and pronounced spiciness into blends and is often used in cocktails with spirits like rum or mezcal as the base.
Fermented Ginger
Black ginger or fermented ginger has a pungent flavour and lots of deep, earthy and smoky notes. This ginger variety has a distinct smell but a mild spice so it is particularly used to infuse a number of aged spirits with its flavours. Rather than adding this ginger directly to a cocktail in the form of a garnish or muddled spice, it is added to spirits themselves for infusing them with its smoky touch. A 30 ml Johnnie Walker Gold Label or any other premium whisky, so infused with fermented ginger can be used to prepare cocktails like a black ginger-infused whisky sour.
Japanese Myoga
An interesting ginger variety also known as white ginger, this spice has a lightly floral quality which in effect builds into the savoury and herbaceous notes of gin cocktails. The Japanese myoga with its light and lemony taste can be used to build a straightforward gin and ginger spritz infused with 30 ml Tanqueray No. 10 Gin or any other premium gin of choice. White ginger also goes well with herbal and floral cocktails made with sake or bitter Italian aperitifs as it blends perfectly with their savoury flavour profiles.
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