Ginger is one of the few ingredients that does everything a bartender wants at once. Heat, sweetness, citrus-adjacent brightness, and a kind of pleasant bite at the back of the throat. The question is never whether to use ginger. It's which form to reach for.

Four forms, four flavours

Fresh ginger root. The most expressive form. Sharp, hot, faintly citrus, sometimes a touch soapy if the rhizome is old. Best for muddling, juicing, and infusing. Bruise three or four coin-shaped slices in the shaker before adding the rest of the build, and the drink picks up a clean, vivid heat. We juice ginger in batches at the start of service; the juice oxidises within four hours, so we don't keep it longer.

Candied ginger. Soft, sweet, the heat tamed. Good for garnish, particularly when the drink already has enough liquid sweetness and you want a contrast of texture. You can also mince candied ginger fine and use it as a sugar substitute in a shaken sour; the result is a little jammier and a little less linear than fresh ginger plus simple syrup.

Ginger syrup. The workhorse. Equal parts fresh ginger juice and sugar, dissolved cold. Holds for ten days in the fridge. This is what we reach for in any short shaken drink where we want clean, dosable ginger flavour without the cleanup of muddling. A house ginger syrup also lets you make a ginger beer on demand by topping with soda water.

Ginger liqueur. Domaine de Canton is the standard and a good benchmark. Cognac-based, with crystallised ginger and honey. Drier than a syrup, with a more developed, slightly cooked flavour. Best used in stirred drinks where you want ginger as a structural element rather than a top note. A barspoon of Domaine de Canton in a Manhattan is a small change with disproportionate effect.

The three classic ginger drinks

The cocktail canon has three ginger drinks that everyone agrees on. Each uses ginger in a different form, which makes them a useful study.

The Moscow Mule uses ginger beer. Sharp, carbonated, dilute, served long over ice with vodka and lime. The ginger here is doing volume work; it's the body of the drink, not the accent. A good ginger beer (we like Fever-Tree's spicy version, or any house-fermented ginger beer made from a ginger bug) makes the cocktail. A bad one (most American ginger ales) ruins it. Use enough lime to keep the drink from going soda-pop sweet.

The Dark and Stormy is the Mule's older cousin: ginger beer, dark rum, lime. The drink belongs to Gosling's of Bermuda, who trademarked the name and built the brand around it. We typically build it with Goslings Black Seal or a Plantation O.F.T.D. The ginger and the molasses-heavy rum meet in a place that tastes a little like a baking spice cabinet, in the best way.

The Penicillin, Sam Ross's 2005 invention at Milk and Honey, is the most refined of the three. Blended Scotch, lemon, honey-ginger syrup, with an Islay float of peated Scotch on top. The ginger is in syrup form, so the heat is dialled and controllable. The drink reads as a hot toddy that's been chilled and made elegant. We've found that the Islay float matters more than the brand; Laphroaig 10 and Ardbeg 10 both work, with slightly different smoke profiles.

Galangal, the Malaysian extension

If ginger is hot and citrus-leaning, galangal is hot and pine-leaning. It's a related rhizome (different genus, same family) used heavily in Thai, Malay, and Indonesian cooking. The flavour is sharper than ginger, with an almost piney, mustard-adjacent bite. Tom Yum gets its distinctive aroma from galangal, not from chilli.

In cocktails, galangal works best in two ways. Infused into a clear spirit (gin, vodka, or white rum) for twelve hours, then strained, it gives a peppery, herbal base. We've used galangal-infused vodka in a savoury, tomato-led brunch drink, and a galangal gin works well in any drink built around lemongrass or kaffir lime. The other use is in syrup form. A galangal-and-kaffir-lime-leaf syrup is one of the more interesting building blocks we keep around. For more, see our galangal ingredient page.

Where to source good ginger in Malaysia

The default ginger you'll find at most Tesco or Jaya Grocer outlets is fine for cooking but a little tired for cocktails. Look for ginger with smooth, papery skin and a pale flesh; older ginger gets fibrous and develops a slight soapy note.

For premium ginger, look for Bentong ginger (sometimes labelled "halia Bentong" or "mountain ginger"). Grown in the highlands of Pahang at elevation, with a much more intense, almost menthol-cool aroma. It costs roughly RM 25-35 per kilo against RM 8-12 for standard ginger, but the flavour is qualitatively different. We use Bentong ginger when the ginger is the headline (a ginger sour, a penicillin variant), and standard ginger when it's a background note.

Wet markets generally have better ginger than supermarkets. Section 17 wet market in PJ, Pasar Borong in Selayang, and Jalan Pasar in Pudu all tend to have at least one stall with proper Bentong ginger in season.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the four forms of ginger I can use in cocktails?

Fresh ginger root (sharp, hot, faintly citrus, best for muddling, juicing, infusing). Candied ginger (soft, sweet, the heat tamed, good for garnish or as a sugar substitute in shaken sours). Ginger syrup (equal parts fresh ginger juice and sugar, the workhorse for shaken drinks). Ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton is the standard, drier and more developed, best in stirred drinks).

How do I make a ginger syrup for cocktails?

Juice fresh ginger root, then combine equal parts ginger juice and white sugar by weight in a sealed jar. Stir until the sugar dissolves cold. No heat, no simmering. Refrigerated, the syrup holds for ten days. The cold-process method keeps the fresh ginger heat and brightness intact; simmering tames the volatile compounds and gives you a duller, more candied syrup.

Can I substitute commercial ginger ale for proper ginger beer in a Moscow Mule?

You can, but the result is meaningfully worse. Most American ginger ales (Schweppes, Canada Dry) are essentially flavoured soda with very little actual ginger heat. A proper ginger beer (Fever-Tree spicy, Bundaberg, or any house-fermented version from a ginger bug) brings real bite and structure. Use enough lime to keep either build from going soda-pop sweet.

How is galangal different from ginger?

Galangal is a related rhizome (different genus, same family) used heavily in Thai, Malay, and Indonesian cooking. The flavour is sharper than ginger, with an almost piney, mustard-adjacent bite. Tom Yum gets its distinctive aroma from galangal, not chilli. In cocktails it works best infused into clear spirits for twelve hours, or as a syrup paired with kaffir lime leaf.

Where can I try a Bentong ginger cocktail in PJ?

Both Dissolved Solids (43-1 Jalan SS20/11 Damansara Kim) and Soluble Solids (50-1 Jalan SS2/24) carry Bentong ginger (Pahang highland-grown, more intense and almost menthol-cool) for ginger-led builds like Penicillin variants and house ginger sours. Tell the bartender you want ginger as the headline. Message Dissolved Solids on WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607 or Soluble Solids on +60 11-1682 8651 to reserve.