Burnt Ginger Low-Proof Cocktail
Photo: Evan Sung
To create this low-proof cocktail, Bobby Snyder, beverage director of New York City’s Yingtao, harnessed the smoke and spice character of the Penicillin cocktail. He steeps ginger in mead, sweetens it with a burnt ginger syrup, then smokes the cocktail.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. ginger mead
- 1 1/2 oz. amontillado sherry
- 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 oz. burnt ginger syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Tools:shaker, strainer, fine-mesh strainer
- Glass:rocks
- Garnish:dehydrated lemon wheel
Preparation
With a lighter or blowtorch on a cast-iron plate, carefully burn cherry wood until it’s smoking heavily. Quickly flip a chilled glass onto the smoking wood. While the glass fills with smoke, in a shaker, combine all the ingredients and fill with ice. Shake hard and double-strain into the smoking glass over ice. Garnish.
Ginger MeadBurn 1/3 cup of chopped fresh ginger using an open flame, until it’s charred with a nice color around the ginger. Once burnt, add to 2/3 cup of mead, letting it steep for over 12 hours. Afterward strain out the ginger. Will keep in the refrigerator for 7 days.
Burnt Ginger SyrupBurn the ginger using an open flame, until it is to the point of charcoal. Once burnt, steep overnight in 1:1 simple syrup. Strain out the ginger, then bottle and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.