As it might be formulated on the SATs, ginger beer is to ginger ale as Eminem is to Michael McDonald. Both are ginger-flavored beverages — just as the men behind “Lose Yourself” and “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” are musicians — but one, in both cases, is a lot harder than the other.
Historically, the differences (we’re talking about the liquids, here) were the result of production technique: Ginger beer was fermented, while ginger ale was not. These days, however, it’s harder to draw that line, as not all ginger beers rely on fermentation. Rather, they tend to diverge most viscerally as a matter of flavor: Ginger beer is usually both more powerful and complex, whereas ginger ale is most often less so. Still, they both have their place in your kitchen and bar cart.
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Yet even within the category of ginger beer, there is a great deal of variation. The bottle you ultimately choose to incorporate into your next Dark and Stormy or Moscow Mule will have a significant impact on the character of the final co*cktail you serve or sip. Some ginger beers are sweeter than others — those tend to take well to spicier drinks — and others pack a serious ginger punch in their own right. Then, there are versions that are sweetened with sugar or agave, while others include high fructose corn syrup.
Ultimately, the range for ginger beers is tremendous. Yet the five below, despite their significant differences, are all worth having on hand.
Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Beer
Sweetened with sugar and boasting actual ginger root among its ingredients, this is a notably spicy, aromatically complex example of ginger beer, with a finish that sizzles for a solid 20 seconds. It plays well with sweeter bourbons, acting as a spicy counterpoint.
Gosling’s Stormy Ginger Beer
A proper Dark and Stormy is made with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, but whether you incorporate Gosling’s Ginger Beer as well is a personal decision. It’s not a bad option, and it pairs well with the rum, though its ginger character comes from what the label calls “ginger beer flavor” and its sweetness is derived from high fructose corn syrup. As such, this bottle is a bit more syrupy than the others. It’s also more generic in its spiciness, and the sweetness lingers longer than other options here. Still, it’s also significantly less expensive than the other bottles on this list, so if you’re batching out the co*cktails, this might be a solid option.
Pratt Standard co*cktail Co. True Ginger Syrup
We know this technically isn’t ginger beer — but when used properly, it will work just as well, and perhaps even better in certain co*cktails. Like the rest of the line from Pratt Standard, this is a deeply concentrated, powerful co*cktail component that, in this case, is made from just four ingredients: Ginger juice, sugar, water, and citric acid. Add a bit to a whiskey highball before pouring the soda water — you’ll have to experiment with how much, and base it on both personal preference and the specific type of whiskey you’re using — for a serious treat.
Q Mixers Ginger Beer
This ginger beer finds the elusive middle ground between sweet, spicy, and fresh with real aplomb. It gets its sweetness from agave, and includes extracts of cardamom, orange, lime, chili pepper, and coriander as well as ginger extract. The result is both bright and piquant, with a back-of-throat spiciness in a sensory tug-of-war with more lifted suggestions of citrus. It’s terrific in a Moscow Mule.
Reed’s Craft Ginger Beer Extra
As the back label proclaims, this contains “100% more ginger than original.” That extra ginger comes in handy, as the addition of honey and pineapple juice in this widely available bottle defines a straight sip almost as much as its namesake root. Try this with tequila and rim the glass with Tajin.
