3 Summer Cocktails to Make with Smoky Ginger Ale

Sweet and familiar, a touch more sophisticated than Coke or Sprite, ginger ale has obvious merits as a mixer. Its more aggressive cousin, ginger beer, often gets pride of place in cocktails like the Moscow Mule and Dark & Stormy. You don’t always want ginger beer’s sharp spice in a cocktail; on the other hand, ol’ ginger ale can be a little one-note.

That’s why we’re so excited by the Smoky Ginger Ale from Fever-Tree. It takes their ginger ale, already drier and fuller-flavored than many brands, and adds a robust smoky flavor, using smoked applewood to infuse the water base. Spirits and smoke have a natural affinity—mezcal and Scotch are just two that often have a smoky element—and the Smoky Ginger Ale offers a way to add that flavor apart from the spirit itself. (And without a smoker box or any other fancy mixologist gizmos.)

The result: Cocktails that taste awfully sophisticated, despite just having two or three ingredients. It’s summer; why make things more complicated than they need to be? Give these three original drinks a try.

Bourbon & Smoky GInger

Bourbon and ginger are a no-brainer of a pairing. But once you add the smoky ginger ale, the effect is halfway between bourbon and Scotch—not bad for a highball. A dash of Angostura bitters helps add depth and body.

Instructions: In a tall glass with ice, combine an ounce and a half of bourbon with four ounces of smoky ginger ale and a dash of Angostura bitters. Stir briefly and garnish with a lemon wheel.

Vodka & Lemon

Think of this drink like a smoky Moscow Mule, with vodka allowing the ginger, and the smoke, to take center stage. A squeeze of lemon adds welcome brightness. And while the drink certainly doesn’t need it, an edible flower—available with the fresh herbs in plenty of supermarkets—is a quick way to dress this drink up.

Instructions: In a tall glass with ice, combine an ounce and a half of vodka with four ounces of smoky ginger ale. Stir briefly and squeeze in a lemon wedge. (And an edible flower, if you wish.)

Smoky Paloma

When you add smoky flavors to bourbon, it tastes almost like Scotch; similarly, when you add smoky flavors to tequila, it tastes more like a mezcal. Here, we’re adding fresh grapefruit, juicy and bittersweet, for a cocktail that drinks like a Paloma, but with smoke and ginger lingering in the background. As refreshing as it is unusual.

Instructions: In a tall glass with ice, combine an ounce and a half of blanco tequila with ? ounce ruby red grapefruit juice, ? ounce simple syrup, and three ounces of smoky ginger ale. Stir briefly and garnish with a few grapefruit half-moons.