Fresh Ginger Margarita Recipe.

This post originally appeared on my blog in October 2015 (nearly ten years ago!) but remains one of my most favorite (and impressive!) cocktails to make. It’s deceptively easy… I think the homemade candied ginger really impresses people? I’ve really begun to prefer it over a classic margarita! One small update I would make is to serve it with a rim of Red Clay’s Spicy Margarita Salts. They are the best (and not too spicy!!!!) and add such incredible flavor to the drink. The ginger flavor combined with lime is just everything.

I’m just going to warn you right now, this might be the best cocktail I’ve ever made. You’re going to be obsessed. It’s partially because I love anything with fresh ginger root, but also, it’s just so good and perfectly balanced. I adapted it from this recipe and love that it uses an egg white as it makes for a frothy, speakeasy style cocktail. If you’re not into egg whites, you can skip this… substitute with 1/8 cup club soda… it will make for a lighter, fizzier take on the original. Also, the fresh ginger syrup is so easy to make and amazing. The recipe makes a lot, so you’ll have extra. I put mine over vanilla ice cream – heaven!!!! OR, use it for a Moscow Mule… YUM.

PS – this passion fruit margarita recipe is my other fav!

Fresh Ginger Margarita Recipe

Ingredients:

• Tequila
• Triple Sec
• A big piece of fresh ginger
• Lime Juice
• One Egg White (per margarita.)
• Red Clay Spicy Margarita Salts

Substitute For Fresh Ginger:

If you don’t have fresh ginger stocked up in your kitchen there’s a handful of substitutions to replicate the flavor. Because ground ginger is more potent than fresh ginger, you can use ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger for every one teaspoon of peeled and grated fresh ginger. Rather than direct substitutions, these spices can more so be seen as alternatives:

• Allspice
• Turmeric
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

Instructions

Start by making a ginger simple syrup.

Prep your ginger by peeling it and slicing it into little pieces.

Then, add 2 cups of sugar + 1 cup water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer. Add your ginger… muddling it in the syrup as you cook. (Cook for about five minutes.)

Strain out the ginger and allow to cool. (Put this syrup in the fridge for later use too!)

(As an aside, save the ginger when you’re done! I covered mine in sugar and let it dry out… it makes for the yummiest candied ginger snack.)

If possible, chill your glasses overnight. This step is not mandatory at all but it’s a nice touch.

Next, rim your glasses! You can moisten the rim with the ginger syrup or a lime wedge. Both of these things are justttt sticky enough to hold the salts to the glasses – works better than water. Then pour a little of your salts onto a plate, take your glasses and dip in salt to coat the rim. Fill your glasses with ice and set the ice filled glasses aside.

To make the cocktail, add all of these ingredients to a martini shaker with ice.

This is for one drink… double, triple, or quadruple accordingly.

• 1 oz. Tequila
• 1 oz. Lime Juice (you can use sour mix too but I prefer freshly squeezed lime juice as I don’t like my margaritas to be very sweet!)
• 1 Tbsp. Triple Sec
• 2 Tbsp. Ginger Syrup
• One Egg White

Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker to get the mixture and egg white nice and frothy… and then serve over ice. Fill your glasses up to an inch under the salt rim.