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Here are all the top ginger ale cocktails to use this bubbly drink mixer! These classic drinks pair it with whiskey, vodka, beer and more.
It’s bubbly, it’s sweet, and it makes any cocktail taste better: it’s ginger ale! There are many classic highballs that use ginger ale, from the whiskey highball to the Pimm’s Cup.
Even everyone’s favorite mocktail, the Shirley Temple, was originally made with the stuff. As a home mixology expert, here are some of my favorite ginger ale cocktails to make with a bottle!
Why Mix Drinks With Ginger Ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated drink flavored with ginger that was invented in the 1850’s. It’s been used for hundreds of years to mix into cocktails. Mix it with any spirit and you’ll make a highball cocktail, a style of drink that has a larger ratio of non alcoholic mixer to liquor. Here’s why I love it as a mixer:
- It makes a delicious, bubbly lighter drink. A highball is mostly mixer, so it’s usually lighter than the typical shaken cocktail.
- It’s easy to find. Most grocery stores carry it, which makes it simple to mix with any liquor.
My Top 10 Ginger Ale Cocktails
Here’s one of the most classic ginger ale cocktails of all time: the Whiskey Ginger! This two-ingredient cocktail originated around the turn of the 20th century and it’s still popular to this day. Why? It’s so easy to make: no cocktail shakers or fancy ingredients required! It’s an intriguing way to enjoy the flavors in a sip of any type of whiskey.
Ingredients: Ginger ale, whiskey
Looking for a tasty, refreshing cocktail that takes 1 minute to mix together? Try Rum and Ginger Ale! It’s similar to a Dark and Stormy, but the ginger flavor is subtler and melts right into the rum. Add a squeeze of lime and it’s the perfect refreshing highball. It’s a great way to make a fast and easy cocktail with a bottle of rum.
When it comes to beer cocktails, there’s nothing better than a shandy! This tasty low alcohol drink originated in Europe and has swept the nation. Here’s the thing: this concept was not invented by Leinenkugel. This drink has a history of hundreds of years! It’s so easy to make at home with your favorite beer and ginger ale or ginger beer.
Ingredients: Pale ale or lager beer, ginger ale, lemon
Looking for a refreshingly easy ginger ale cocktail for entertaining? Enter the Pimm’s Cup! This popular British mixed drink is all about bubbly soda and fruity flavored gin. It’s so tasty that it’s dangerously easy to sip at lightening speed. It’s also great for entertaining: just a few ingredients and no need to dirty a cocktail shaker.
Ingredients: Pimm’s No. 1, ginger ale, lemon, cucumber slices
Here’s an interesting mixer for tequila that makes one surprisingly balanced drink: Tequila and Ginger Ale! Ginger beer is often mixed with tequila in a Mexican Mule, but ginger ale is something altogether different. The sweet, delicately bubbly ale makes a surprisingly tasty pair with the oaky and vanilla notes of tequila reposado.
Ingredients: Tequila, ginger ale
Some of the best drinks are just two ingredients. Such is the case with Vodka and Ginger Ale! Mix vodka with a little bubbly ginger ale and it’s pretty fantastic: no need for buying fancy liqueurs required.
Ingredients: Vodka, ginger ale, lime
Here's a unique ginger ale cocktail: the Transfusion! This drink might sound like a super potent neon nightclub drink: but it’s anything but. It’s a refreshing highball drink that’s popular at golf clubs, of all places! The flavors really work: sweet tart, bubbly, with a bit of spicy ginger and the musky finish of the grape juice.
Ingredients: Vodka, Concord grape juice, ginger ale, lime
Here’s a bright blue drink that’s fresh and sweet tart: the Blue Long Island, aka Blue Long Island Iced Tea! The traditional Long Island Iced Tea has a bit of a reputation for being a low-brow, high alcohol drink. But make it the right way, and this classic has fresh, nuanced flavor and less alcohol than most cocktails. This blue spin on the classic uses blue curacao for its ocean-hued color, and it adds a lovely citrusy flavor.
Ingredients: Vodka, tequila, white rum, gin, blue curacao, lemon juice, ginger ale
Do mocktails count as a ginger ale cocktails? Because this one is the best use of ginger ale in a virgin drink. Try this Mimosa Mocktail! This drink is so simple to put together, and it’s totally customizable for kids or people avoiding alcohol. It tastes surprisingly balanced: citrusy and bubbly with a hint of ginger on the finish.
Last up in our ginger ale cocktails: that famous mocktail, the Shirley Template! This isn’t the overly sweet, syrupy version of this drink. The classic way is actually made without soda: just three ingredients and totally clean flavors. It’s not just for kids! This mocktail works for anyone looking for a bubbly, refreshing non-alcoholic drink.
Ingredients: Grenadine, lime juice, ginger ale
Choosing a Ginger Ale
There are lots of ginger ale brands on the market! My favorites are the same as my favorite brands of ginger beer. Here they are:
- Q Ginger Ale: This is my top choice! It comes in small cans, so you only have to use a little at a time.
- Fever Tree Ginger Ale: Fever Tree is made with real ginger and has no artificial sweeteners.
Related: Ginger Beer Cocktails
Ginger beer is related to ginger ale, but the flavor couldn’t be more different! What’s the difference between ginger beer vs ginger ale? Ginger ale tastes mellow and sweet, but ginger beer has a pronounced ginger flavor and spicy finish. You can replace ginger beer in the above ginger ale cocktails, but it’s got such a different flavor that we consider it a totally unique mixer. Here are a few of our favorite ginger beer cocktails to try:
- Mix up the most classic of them all, the Classic Moscow Mule
- Try a Dark and Stormy with dark rum
- Opt for a pretty pink Floradora
- Taste mule variations like the Gin Gin Mule, Kentucky Mule or Mexican Mule
Frequently Asked Qusetions
Whiskey is classic, but it works with bourbon, rye and Irish whiskey. Rum, vodka, tequila and gin are great too.
Many people call it a Vodka Ginger. Add lime juice and it’s a Vodka Buck. A Moscow Mule is made with spicier ginger beer.
You can order it as a Jameson and Ginger. With a squeeze of lime, it’s also known as an Irish Buck.
Citrus works best: lime, lemon and orange all work.
More Cocktail Recipes
There are so many more to try! Here are 200+ cocktail recipes for every occasion:
- Classics: Try Classic Cocktails or Great Cocktail Recipes.
- Easy: These 10 Easy Mixed Drinks and Cheap Drinks have just 2 to 3 ingredients.
- 2 Ingredient: Try 2 Ingredient Tequila Drinks or 2 Ingredient Vodka Drinks
- Fancy: Opt for the best in Craft Cocktails.
- The Big 5: Try all our cocktails with Gin, Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila or Rum
See Also: our master list of Types of Alcohol and Liquor Names!
Please consider including “CHILCANO DE PISCO” in the above list. It is delicious! Ingredients: Ginger Ale, Pisco (≈ Peruvian brandy), Lime.
Sounds great! We’ll have to try it.