Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/6221
64 / the tasting panel / january–february 2010 not only does ginger cooperate with most drink ingredients, it works well with food." In recent years, bartenders have begun using ginger and ginger- flavored products in many ways. The four establishments mentioned here list 20 ginger cocktails on their menus collectively, and pair the spice with spirits as diverse as cachaça, vodka, rye and applejack. "Ginger has a lot of flexibility; you can really use it with just about any base spirit, whether it's brown or white," says Eric Simpkins, Bar Supervisor of Drinkshop at the W Atlanta Downtown. "You can use a lot of it to add spice and dominate a drink like a Moscow Mule or Dark 'n' Stormy, or you can use it in the background, much like when you're creating a curry in which ginger is just one of the spicy notes." San Francisco bar 15 Romo- lo's Bar Manager Scott Baird agrees. "It's such a flexible ingredient; you can go sweet or savory with it, and it works both ways." Not only does ginger co- operate with most drink ingredients, it works well with food. "Ginger pairs with all sorts of cuisine, says Sean Kenyon, Beverage Director at the garage-themed Steuben's Food Service and fine dining restaurant Vesta Dipping Grill in Denver. "I like to use it as a digestif. We also do a welcome cocktail that's more of a sour, and I like to put ginger in there as well." Ginger flavor is available in many forms since the introduc- tion of products like Domaine de Canton liqueur, Yazi ginger- flavored vodka, Elixir G ginger cocktail mix and ginger beers including Fentimans, Bunda- berg and the new Fever-Tree. But it seems most bartenders are supple- menting these products with home- made ginger syrup. Each of our featured bartend- ers makes a unique syrup. Kenyon adds lemon peel to his syrup, which he says pushes the ginger flavor forward. Simpkins doesn't cook his syrup, keeping the ginger flavor fresh. Baird simmers ginger syrup over heat, then adds fresh ginger to it as it cools. "You get such a depth of ginger flavor. In the syrup you get both a candied ginger flavor and the fresh heat of the ginger." Louise Owens is a co-owner of the Windmill Lounge in Dallas, "an up- scale dive that serves great cocktails." Owens uses a few drops of ginger juice to better the flavor of ginger ale off the soda gun. She says, "For our place, having 70 different herbs is just not feasible. You can make up a bunch of ginger juice; it lasts for a while, it's inexpensive and you can use it in a lot of different things." Baird compares ginger in drinks to black pepper in food—a ubiquitous spice that people still really enjoy. And though ginger's popularity on cocktail menus is a relatively recent phenomenon, this spicy ingredient looks like it will be a staple in cock- tails from now on. FLavor FinDs 15 Romolo bartender Josh Harris mixes up The Amazona. Canned ginger and other tinctures become the basis of many signature drinks at 15 Romolo. PHOTO: RYAN LELY PHOTO: RYAN LELY