Ginger Ale Recipe

Prepare ginger

Peel the fresh ginger with a spoon or a vegetable peeler, then finely grate or thinly slice it. You should have roughly 200 g (about 2 cups packed grated or ~1½–2 cups sliced).

Combine and simmer

In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups water, 2 cups granulated sugar, the grated/sliced ginger, whole cloves and star anise (if using). Bring mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Reduce and steep

Lower heat to medium-low so the mixture simmers gently. Cook for 10–15 minutes, uncovered, to extract ginger flavor into the syrup. Taste after 10 minutes — if you want bolder heat/ginger flavor, simmer another 5 minutes.

Cool and strain

Remove the pot from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Let the syrup cool for 10–15 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof bowl or jar, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.

Store

Once completely cool, transfer the ginger syrup to a clean bottle or jar, seal, and refrigerate. Syrup will keep 10–14 days refrigerated.

Fill a highball glass with about 1 cup of ice.

Add 1½ tablespoons ginger syrup to the glass. Adjust to taste: 1 tablespoon for milder, 2 tablespoons for stronger/gingier.

Pour 250 ml (about 8–9 fl oz) very cold soda water over the syrup and ice. Stir gently once to combine — avoid vigorous stirring to preserve carbonation.

Taste and adjust: add an extra ½ tablespoon syrup if you prefer sweeter or spicier ginger flavor, or a squeeze of lime/lemon for brightness.

Garnish with a lime or lemon wedge and a mint sprig if desired. Serve immediately.