MxMo XL: Glorious Ginger

This month, Rum Dood is hosting Mixology Monday and the theme is ginger. Long story short, I love ginger and we use it in lots of cocktails. One of my ongoing favorites is the ginger gimlet that I blogged about a couple of years ago (using a 2:1:2/3 ratio these days). Lately, however, I've been playing with ginger and our award-winning Aquavit.

Aquavit is an under-appreciated spirit in our book, and it's something that we love. For those who don't know it, the dominant flavor is caraway seed (that's the definition these days, anyway - gin is juniper, aquavit is caraway). It's up the distiller to decide what else, if anything, is used. Ours is made with caraway seed (the required element), cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and anise, and then aged in new American oak. That combination of spices plays spectacularly with ginger.

Without further ado, here are a couple of favorite cocktails with ginger and aquavit. I'm afraid I'm running out of time to get my MxMo submission in by midnight, and it's been a long day, so I'm going short and sweet this month (but hey, at least I'm getting in a post!).

The Gingervit
2 oz Aquavit Private Reserve
½ oz Ginger Syrup (1:1 ratio, 4" of fresh ginger root peeled & sliced, simmer 5 mins)
1 - 2 Dashes of orange bitters (Regan's)
Club Soda
Combine Aquavit, ginger syrup and bitters over ice. Top up with club soda, stir briefly and garnish with orange slice.

The Good Life
Developed by my friend Benjamin Schiller from In Fine Spirits here in Chicago
1 1/2 oz Aquavit Private Reserve
1 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
3/4 oz Fresh lime juice
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup (2:1 ratio)
Dash of orange bitters (housemade)
Shake ingredients with ice; stain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel rose.

As you might expect, I've only tried these with our aquavit, but I expect it might work with others. Cheers, and thanks to RumDood for hosting this month!