You know, it's funny, up until a few weeks ago, I had never had ginger ale. But one Sunday my husband had made a batch of fresh ginger syrup and mentioned using some of it to make ginger ale. Ginger ale?... really? Does anyone drink it? Or... am I just the only one that never has?! 

We've been on a ginger beer kick, making our own often. But ginger ale is so much faster and easier - no waiting involved! And if you love flavored sparkling water and you love ginger, this is your drink. I love both, so it's safe to say I love making this ! 

Homemade Ginger Ale

• 1/8 - 1/4 cup fresh ginger syrup (recipe below)

• Juice from 1 lemon

• 4 cups unflavored sparkling water

Directions:

1. In a large pitcher, combine 1/8 cup ginger syrup, lemon juice and sparkling water. The amount of ginger syrup depends on how strong you want it. Stir, taste it and add a tablespoon more syrup at a time - adding up to 1/8 cup more ginger syrup (making 1/4 cup total)

2. Pour over ice and enjoy!

Ginger Syrup

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup water

• knob of ginger root (size of your thumb, sliced)

Directions: 

1. Slice the ginger. You don't have to peel it, but you can. My husband prefers to leave the skin on for a golden-colored syrup. The more ginger you use, the stronger the syrup will be.

2. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, until sugar dissolves. Add ginger and let simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool you can strain and pour into a jar or any type of air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator. This will keep for a few weeks.

Sadly this won't keep longer than a day or so in the fridge since the water will lose it's carbonation. So, you can make a smaller batch and do 2 cups of sparkling water. I still use 1 whole lemon and then add ginger syrup to taste.