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This past March, my friend and I did a little urban distillery tour through Portland. You can actually get a Distillery Row Passport for $25 with a $5 coupon at the airport and most hotels, so it's a pretty sweet deal. Grab a passport and a fixed gear bike, and you're set. Anyway, my friend and I were absolutely smitten with the Ginger Liqueur at New Deal Distillery.

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It's just fresh ginger infused in a neutral grain spirit, and finished off with a little organic sugar cane and agave. It smacks of spicy, fresh ginger, and as I tasted it, I began envisioning all the Moscow Mules and gingery punches I'd be making this summer. Well, I finally got around to making a drink over a month later for some friends at a Sunday dinner, and this is what I came up with - the Gin Gin cocktail with gin and ginger liqueur. The name is a play off of one of my favorite candies - Gin Gins. I used St. George's Botanivore Ginger, which is heavier on the juniper, citrus, and floral notes, and added a little lime juice (in the words of a bartender friend, "drug lords, be damned") and simple syrup. I topped it with a mint leaf for another fresh, herbal hit. My friends and I quickly realized that this drink may have become our spring/summer jam. I better order another bottle of this liqueur soon!
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Gin Gin
Ingredients:
  • 2 oz gin (I used St. George's Botanivore Gin)
  • 1 oz ginger liqueur (I used New Deal's version, but there are other ones out there like King George)
  • Fresh squeezed juice from half a lime
  • 1/4 oz simple syrup
  • Mint leaf & lime wheel, for garnish
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the gin, ginger liqueur, lime juice, and simple syrup.
- Shake to your heart's content and pour into a chilled glass.
- Top with a mint leaf and garnish the glass with a lime wheel.