Bottle Swap: The King's Ginger

This post is going to be a little different from my usual Bottle Buys, because this time it's a bottle swap! Fellow Boston cocktail blogger Mr. Muddle and I, lamenting the fact that we can't buy every single cocktail ingredient out there without bankrupting ourselves, decided to do a bottle swap where we each bought a new spirit and shared half of the bottle. Today and next Thursday, we're both using our new ingredients in original cocktails. Be sure to check out Mr. Muddle's blog today for the Thoroughly Polite Dustup, his take on The King's Ginger (and possibly the best cocktail name I've heard in a while - reference for the uninitiated).

The King's Ginger was Mr. Muddle's suggestion for the swap, and I was very excited to get my hands on some of this ginger liqueur. It's made by macerating ginger root in a high-proof brandy. Honey, lemon peel, and a bit of whiskey are added as well. It's a thick, syrupy liqueur with an intense ginger flavor and a spicy bite.

I love a liqueur with an interesting history behind it, and as you might guess from its name, The King's Ginger has got one. According to their website, the royal physician of King Edward VII commissioned the ginger liqueur in 1903 "to stimulate and revivify His Majesty whilst exposed to the elements on morning rides in his new horseless carriage." It was created by Berry Bros., a spirits company that has existed since 1698 and is still operating today as Berry Bros. & Rudd. They have supplied wine and spirits to the royal family since 1720.

King Edward VII was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. He was quite the bon vivant; you may recall some of his antics from my post on the Prince of Wales cocktail, one of his favored drinks. He enjoyed good food, cigars, hunting, and the company of ladies. (As The King's Ginger tactfully puts it, "The encumbrance of marriage didn't curb the socialising to which Edward had become accustomed.") He also enjoyed driving. He became the first monarch to own an automobile in 1900, when he bought a Daimler. He bought several more during his reign. These were open-air vehicles, and the Royal Physician was very worried about the effects of driving on Edward's health. He asked Berry Bros. to create a liqueur that would warm His Majesty up after his morning drives. And so the King's Ginger was born.

Edward VII in his Daimler.

I'm a little unclear on exactly how long The King's Ginger has been on the shelves - it was sold as far back as the 1980's, but the current version has only been around since 2010 or so. I don't know if Berry Bros. started marketing it immediately or if it remained something of a royal specialty for a while. But thank goodness it's available to us commoners now!

I was really excited about this liqueur, as ginger is one of my favorite flavors in a cocktail. It seems to work with any spirit. I've made ginger syrup in the past, but fresh ginger definitely isn't something I usually have on hand, and I love that this liqueur will be a permanent fixture in my bar. Unlike Domain de Canton, which is quite sweet, The King's Ginger really has some bite to it, and a wonderfully natural-tasting ginger flavor.

King's Ginger

Price: $35
Alcohol Content: 41%
Popular Cocktails: No classics I know of; try it in any citrusy or fizzy drink

The King's Ginger is an extremely versatile cocktail ingredient - a million possible recipes popped into my mind when I tasted it. I decided to try something a little fun and do a riff on a cocktail I'm not really a huge fan of: the Moscow Mule. This mixture of ginger beer, lime, and vodka is undeniably refreshing but not really all that complex or special, copper mug aside. So I wondered what it would take to make a version I'd like with the King's Ginger. Since I generally prefer cocktails that are served up instead of on the rocks, I decided the fizz was going to go - I was going to martini-fy the Moscow Mule. And I have to say, I'm kind of in love with the finished product. This is definitely a vodka cocktail that I like!

And this one doesn't need a special glass, right? Oh wait... they sell copper coupes? Um, yeah. I had to get one of those.

Moscow Martini

2 oz. vodka
1 oz. King's Ginger
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with lime and crystallized ginger.

Historical information for this post came from The King's Ginger, The Whiskey Exchange, and Anchor Distilling.

Ginger Sage Smash

Last Monday, I announced some big news - Garnish is now officially affiliated with Muddle & Stir! And it's high time we toasted our new partnership with a cocktail.

If you're not familiar with Muddle & Stir, they're an online retailer that sells tools, glassware, and mixers for cocktails. I love what they're about. In their own words: "We keep running into people who are intimidated to try and create something beyond a gin and tonic at home. As professional bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts, we know that making magical mixtures in your own kitchen is not only possible but fun, exciting and delicious!"

Amen, Muddle & Stir!

So what does this partnership mean? It means that I’m able to offer you guys a fantastic discount on everything at Muddle & Stir – 10% off your purchase plus free shipping when you use the code MS10GB. And if you buy any of their products with this code, a small percentage of the proceeds will come back to Garnish. So if you’d like to support the blog while getting some great new tools and ingredients for your bar, check them out! But don’t worry – this isn’t going to change the blog whatsoever. I’m here to write about great cocktails, not to sell anything. I’ve always liked writing about the ingredients and tools I use, and I’ll continue to do just that. I’ll never recommend anything I don’t love and use myself.

The first time I looked at the selection of bar tools at Muddle & Stir, I kind of had to stop myself from buying all of them. I’ve still got my eye on these clear ice molds and this julep mug. But so far I’ve only purchased two things I’ve been wanting for a while: a wooden muddler and a set of stainless steel cocktail picks. Until now, I’ve (somewhat ironically) been using a stainless steel muddler and wooden cocktail picks, and I wanted to upgrade both.

The muddler purchase was inspired by the Death & Co cocktail book, which it seems I'm not going to stop talking about any time soon. My stainless steel muddler has a rubber base with spikes on the bottom, which is pretty effective for mashing something to a pulp, but it's not really ideal for muddling herbs. To illustrate this, Death & Co recommends taking a mint leaf, gently pressing it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue, and tasting the flavor that is expressed. Then chew it up a bit and compare the way it tastes. The chewing releases a lot more bitterness, and it’s those delicate minty flavors that we actually want to capture. That’s why a blunt muddler might be preferable.

The cocktail picks, on the other hand, just look pretty.

Along with my new tools, Muddle & Stir kindly sent me a sampler pack of Black Cloud Bitters, which I was super psyched to try. Last week was basically like Christmas.

I love bitters sampler packs. Other than my bottle of Angostura, which I decimated making Trinidad Sours, I’ve never finished an entire bottle of bitters, so I'm a big fan of buying lots of smaller bottles so that you can try several varieties. And the varieties in the Black Cloud sampler are pretty crazy awesome: Charred Cedar, Saffron Mango, Garden Party (cucumber and celery), Black & Blue (blackberry and blueberry), and Prairie Rose. Since I’m currently in the midst of my first attempt at making my own bitters, I’m trying to train my palate to taste them a bit more skillfully, and I tried all of them in club soda to get an idea of their flavor. They're all excellent, and Charred Cedar in particular is a total show-stopper – the fragrance and flavor are incredible.

So to toast my new partnership with Muddle & Stir, I obviously wanted to create a cocktail that would use my muddler, my cocktail picks, and my new bitters.

I decided to build a drink around the Black & Blue bitters. A smash seemed appropriate for my new muddler. My first thought was to reach for some blackberries or blueberries, but I was afraid that would mask the delicate flavor of the bitters themselves, so I decided to keep the berries for a garnish and let the bitters themselves bring all the berry flavor to the drink.

I thought sage would work well with the bitters. I used bourbon to bring out some of their cocoa and vanilla notes, and a ginger liqueur to play up their ginger flavors. (The ginger liqueur is part of a bottle swap I did with Mr. Muddle, and I'm not supposed to introduce it for a couple of weeks, but I just had to use it here. Shhh!) Using a ginger simple syrup could yield a similar result.

I'm beyond happy with the finished cocktail, and so excited to create some recipes with the rest of the bitters. Stay tuned! And don't forget to check out Muddle & Stir!

Ginger Sage Smash

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (I used King's Ginger)
3 sage leaves
2 droppers Black Cloud Black & Blue bitters

Put sage and simple syrup in the bottom of a glass and muddle until sage is bruised and syrup is greenish. Add bourbon, lemon, ginger liqueur, and bitters. Fill glass with crushed ice and stir. Top with a little more ice, two blackberries on a cocktail pick, and a sage leaf.