New summer drink: The Bob & Ginger Cocktail
Want to impress your friends with a new summer cocktail? Jason Newell, our manager of wines & spirits at our Chanhassen store, has created a new recipe that’s sure to be your new summer favorite.
Each year around this time, I start seeking out which new cocktails will be the hot drink of the summer. Every year there are exciting new flavors that everybody wants to try. I remember summers past when the coolest drinks to have for your guests were Cosmos, perfect margaritas, craft beers and hard lemonades. Although still popular, these cocktails have morphed into new favorites such as the Moscow mule, whiskey ginger, summer ales and ciders.
Each summer I put on my Research & Development hat and attempt to create a cocktail to delight and impress my friends and local party planners. Past successful creations include the Spa Collins, Ciderac and who can forget the now famous Jamie’s Jiggy Juice. Creating a new cocktail is fairly easy and a whole lot of fun.
I start off with one ingredient that seems to be the most popular of the season. This year without a doubt ginger beer is by far the hottest trend in cocktail mixing. Ginger beer was made popular by the revival of the classic cocktails Moscow mule and the Dark and Stormy. This non-alcoholic soda has been added to almost every restaurant’s drink menu and is flying off liquor store shelves.
Next I add one of my favorite flavors: The geniuses at Powell & Mahoney Cocktail Mixers from Vermont have developed a blood orange mixer. It’s all natural without any high fructose corn syrup added, which is very important to me.
Now comes the technical part: Add a little blood orange to a little ginger beer and taste. Then add a little more blood orange to a little less ginger beer and taste. Continue to adjust the proportions of the two flavors until you get a flavor that you think is the perfect blend.
Now comes the fun part: It’s time to find the best type of spirit to add to your perfectly blended mix. I try each spirit with the mix separately and pick my favorite. Start with the mildest flavored spirit and end with the most dramatic of the standard liquors. Vodka, rum, tequila, gin and whiskey is the progression I typically follow. The winner for this recipe is Woodford Reserve Bourbon. The bourbon’s outstanding flavor added incredible dimension to my mix.
Try it on the rocks, blended or shake and serve like a martini. Then pick your garnish. I’m choosing a blood orange slice and a piece of candied ginger to accompany my creation. Look for unique garnishes to accompany your drink in Lunds & Byerlys’ canned fruit, baking and candy aisles.
Last but not least, it’s time to name our creation. After much deliberation and many Google searches I
have christened this summer’s signature drink the Bob & Ginger. The Bob stands for “blood orange and bourbon” and the Ginger for the ginger beer.
Serve your experiment to a group of your friends to see if you have created the next classic cocktail. I am sure you will have many willing volunteers!
Bob & Ginger Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1½ oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
- 2 ounces Q Ginger Beer
- 4 ounces Powell & Mahoney Limited Blood Orange Mixer
- Ice
- Slice of blood orange, for garnish
- Candied ginger, for garnish
Directions
Pour the bourbon, ginger beer and blood orange mixer over ice in a pint or hurricane glass and stir. Garnish with blood orange slice and candied ginger and enjoy.