How to Make Ginger Ale from Scratch

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The most common type of ginger ale today is the pale variety, like Canada Dry, but back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the preferred ginger ale was the Belfast variety, which had a spicier taste and more aromatic nose. It was often called for in pre-prohibition cocktails like the Mamie Taylor, Horse's Neck, 20th Century and the variety of highball called a "buck."

The recipe in this video comes from 1888 and was a clone or copycat recipe for imported ginger ale from Ireland. It incorporated hot pepper powder into the extract which gives this ginger ale a pleasant kick of heat and may change the way you think about ginger ale.

*Belfast Ginger Ale Extract Recipe:*

90 grams Ginger Root (powdered)
30 grams Orange Peel
9 grams Nutmeg powder
9 grams Ceylon Cinnamon Powder
6 grams Lime Peel
4 grams Vanilla (powder)
1.5 grams Capsicum
10 drop Cognac Oil (Ethyl Heptanoate) (Optional)
1/8 drop Oil of Rose
Alcohol 95%, enough to collect 8 oz of extract

Percolate for 48 hours or macerate for 2 weeks.
Use 1 oz of extract in 1 litre of simple syrup.
Use 1 oz of the ginger ale syrup in an 8 oz soda.

This product improves with age, so age for a month or more.

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