Ginger Sparkler
The month of December is the start of something I’m very excited about. It’s my first official month as a columnist for Westport Lifestyle Magazine! While I’ve been a writer for the magazine since 2018, I’m excited to say I now have my own little corner of the magazine. For our December holiday issue, I shared two cocktails & a mocktail, which I’ll happily be sharing here for the next three Tuesdays leading up to Christmas. You know, because 1. Tuesday’s kind of need a pick-me-up and 2. I’m giving you plenty of time to plan for the weekend if you need to gather some ingredients!
Personally, this is one of my favorites: a ginger sparkler. I love the subtle hint of ginger in the bubbles; it tastes like seasonal perfection. If you’re looking to prep several drinks for guests, this recipe is especially easy to make for a large group. Just make the ginger simple syrup ahead of time & pop a bottle of bubbles when your guests arrive.
What You’ll Need:
2 teaspoons finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
Dry sparkling wine (cava, prosecco, or champagne), chilled
The How To:
- In a small saucepan, boil ginger, sugar, and 1/4 cup water until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to a low boil for 20 minutes. Strain into bowl & discard solids (or roll them in sugar for candied ginger garnish). You can make this syrup ahead and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to one week.
- Pour one tablespoon syrup into a champagne flute and top with chilled sparkling wine
- Gently stir & serve.
Pro Tip: it’s very easy to candy your own ginger but seems *super* impressive. If you do roll the ginger from the simple syrup in sugar, just put them on a cooling rack and set aside. In a few hours, you’ll have candied ginger to garnish your cocktail.
Happy Holidays!!
Cheers,
