Homemade Ginger Ale is one of those drinks I will always order if I see it on the menu. Canned ginger ale is OKAY but nothing beats homemade. The aromatic from the ginger is much stronger and it tastes much better with the fresh lime. This recipe is really simple to make and is a great addition to a dinner party.

overhead shot of ginger ale in cup with ice and wedge of lime.

The first time I made homemade ginger ale was actually out of frustration from my ginger beer not fermenting properly. I was really craving something bubbly and gingery so I decided to make ginger ale with my leftover ginger syrup. I didn't have fresh lime so I used lemon juice instead and it still came out really good. However, I do prefer the taste with lime, so if you have that, I recommend it.

Ginger syrup for ginger ale

For the ginger syrup, you want to start off with a large amount of water and then boil it down by about 75%. The reason you want a lot of water initially is because it will extract more of the flavor from the ginger. I start with about 8 cups of water and then reduce it down to 2 cups. After reducing the water, you want to whisk in 1 ¾ cups of sugar until it becomes a syrup.

chopped ginger being boiled in pot of water.

ginger being strained through fine-meshed sieve.

Why I use canned sparkling water

I would highly recommend using canned sparkling water instead of bottled sparkling water. The reason is because the bottles lose a lot of their carbonation once they're opened. The first batch of ginger ale is good, but the next batch is usually way less fizzy. For the canned sparkling water, you can use any low-sugar carbonated drink like Spindrift, Lacroix, or Bubly.

canned sparkling water being poured into cup of ginger ale.

Homemade Ginger Ale

As the kids would say, this homemade ginger ale is "bussin". If you've never had homemade ginger ale before, it's way better than the canned stuff. The recipe is really simple to make and makes enough for 8 people.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 5

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Servings people

Ingredients

For the ginger syrup

12 ounces unpeeled ginger (you will be left with about 10 ounces after peeling)
8 cups water
1 cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

For each drink

3-4 tablespoons ginger syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
1 can sparkling water (I used Spindrift low-sugar, lime-flavored soda)

Instructions

Peel the ginger then chop it into small pieces (I used a small spoon to peel the ginger and my food processor to chop the ginger).
In a medium pot, add the chopped ginger and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium for 45 minutes. The water should be at a soft boil.
Strain the liquid through a fine-meshed strainer and discard the ginger.
Return the liquid to the pot and boil on high heat for another 10-15 minutes until you are left with 2 cups of liquid. Whisk in the sugars until they're dissolved then remove from the heat. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
For each drink, add 3-4 tablespoons of ginger syrup, 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice, and fill to the top with carbonated water and ice. Enjoy!