Bourbon Ginger Ale Cocktail

Also called the Whiskey Ginger, this spicy Bourbon Ginger Ale cocktail is the best way to warm up on a wintry night or cool down in the summer. With lime juice, bourbon and ginger ale, it’s got enough sweetness, tartness and spiciness to send the blues away. 

About this Whiskey Ginger cocktail recipe

My favorite Friday nights are usually spent drinking cocktails with friends. My favorites lately have included all things ginger, like an Irish Mule or a classic whiskey ginger cocktail.

Also called the Whiskey Ginger, this easy cocktail can be made with just two ingredients, bourbon and ginger ale. My favorite way is to add a splash of fresh lime juice. You can even mix it up with other kinds of whiskey, like Scotch or rye.

Like a rum & coke or a vodka cranberry, it’s the perfect cocktail to order on airplanes and at open bars because it’s so simple to make. 

I love to dress it up with a little spritz of lime and maybe a piece of candied ginger if I have it (such a good snack!), but it’s delicious all on its own, too.

More whiskey recipes: Whiskey Sour • Whiskey Smash • Old-Fashioned

Ingredients

If you’re feeling the winter blues, you might need a cocktail. This Bourbon Ginger Ale Cocktail is a good winter remedy, but it’s a great drink to enjoy all year long. Here’s what you need to make it:

• Bourbon: American whiskey brings its sweet, oaky, caramel flavor to the ginger ale. You can use just about any bourbon you can find.
• Ginger ale: Bourbon is warm and smooth, while ginger ale is sweet with a slight spice to it, making it a perfect bourbon mixer.
• Lime juice: Totally optional, but a splash of lime juice — ideally from a fresh lime — brings some zesty flavor and helps to balance the sweetness of ginger ale and bourbon.

Best whiskey

If you have a favorite whiskey, use that. If you don’t have one, try one of mine: Maker’s Mark is lovely and clean; Bulleit has a bit of spice and Old Forester is robust yet smooth.

Any type of whiskey, such as rye or scotch, can be used instead of bourbon. You can even use a flavored bourbon like cinnamon whiskey to take this cocktail up a notch. Each of these strong spirits is a natural match for sweet, bubbly ginger ale. What is the best whiskey depends on your preference:

• Bourbon: A great bourbon that has a cleaner flavor is Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek or Bulleit. For a more flavorful bourbon, try Old Forester, Woodford Reserve or Angel’s Envy.
• Rye: Most of these brands offer a rye whiskey as well. (I love Knob Creek, personally!)
• Irish whiskey: Jameson whiskey is a natural choice — it’s oh-so-smooth. However, if you use Irish whiskey, the drink will be called an Irish Buck!
• Canadian whisky: Try Crown (or one of the flavored versions).

Not drinking? Try using a whiskey-tasting non-alcoholic spirit like Ritual whiskey alternative ^*.

Best ginger ale

Bourbon and ginger ale are a match made in cocktail heaven. The sweet spice pairs beautifully with the smoky oakiness of whiskey. You can use ginger beer instead if you like. Ginger ale is lighter and sweeter than ginger beer, while ginger beer is spicer and sharper. It’s totally up to you.

For brands of store-bought ginger ale, my go-to is Seagram’s because I find its ginger flavor to be stronger, but Canada Dry is my second choice.

I also love making my own homemade ginger ale because it’s a great way to control how gingery and how sweet the end result is! You can do this with a homemade ginger syrup and some club soda.

Garnishes

While I am perfectly happy just drinking a bourbon and ginger ale, you know I like to fancy things up just a bit. 

So that’s exactly what I did with this drink. I took a classic combination and added a couple of extra — but very simple — ingredients to make it a little more special.

For this cocktail, I added a bit of lime and candied ginger into the mix. The addition of candied ginger here gives this cocktail a little extra spiciness, plus it’s something to nibble on once the drink is gone.

How to make a Whiskey Ginger

This whiskey ginger recipe is enough to make four cocktails, but you can easily scale it down to one. It is one of the easiest cocktails out there! Here’s how to make it:

1. Pour an ounce of bourbon into 4 ice-filled glasses.
2. Divide ginger ale among glasses.
3. Give each glass a squeeze of lime and drop the spent shell in the drink.
4. Garnish with lime wedges and candied ginger, if desired, and serve immediately.

I use a rocks glass ^*, but you can easily double the recipe for a highball glass.

If you need to save your can of ginger ale for later, use one of these food huggers. They are life-changing!

favorite rocks glasses

striped old-fashioned glasses

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hobnail rocks glasses

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minimalist rocks glasses

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^*

Where to buy candied ginger

Candied ginger is pretty easy to find in most mainstream grocery stores these days. Be sure to check in the spice aisle.

I personally prefer sliced candied ginger for garnishing cocktails. If you can only find cubed candied ginger, though, you can always thread several pieces onto a cocktail toothpick for your garnish!

Of course, you could always try your hand at making homemade candied ginger if you are really feeling fancy. That would be an A+ way to impress any of your friends (and would make a great holiday gift along with the ingredients to make this Bourbon Ginger Ale cocktail).

Ginger beer vs. ginger ale

Not sure what the difference is between ginger beer and ginger ale? Ginger beer is brewed and fermented. Ginger ale, on the other hand, is more like a soda – carbonated water flavored with ginger.

They’re both non-alcoholic (although you can purchase alcoholic ginger beer) and great for sipping on their own or in cocktails or mocktails. 

Ginger ale is a bit sweeter than ginger beer. Since ginger beer is fermented, it tends to be more gingery, which can make it spicier depending on the brand you use. So if the spiciness of ginger beer usually gets you down, you’ll love trying this recipe with its milder mixer sister, ginger ale. 

FAQ

More ginger cocktails

The Whiskey Ginger is one of my go-to drinks this time of year! (And all year, let’s be real.) But any ginger cocktail is a welcome one in my book.

The famous Moscow Mule is a classic cocktail made with vodka and ginger beer. Though this Bourbon Ginger Ale Cocktail is made with ginger ale and not ginger beer, it is still reminiscent of a mule cocktail, specifically the Kentucky Mule because it is made with bourbon. 

I even made an updated version of the Whiskey Ginger with a ginger shrub to make my Bourbon Ginger Shrub Cocktail — a seriously delicious and refreshing drink! 

The Dark & Stormy is a rum and ginger drink that’s full of spiced ginger flavor.