Ginger the Honeypot

Course Drinks

Cuisine Canadian

Keyword Ginger the Honeypot

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 6 drinks

1 ½ cups rye whiskey
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
6 dashes of orange bitters
6 strips of lemon peel taken from 1 to 2 lemons, removed with a peeler (no pith)
6 strips of orange peel taken from 1 orange, removed with a peeler (no pith)
6 oz Jamaican ginger beer (non-alcoholic)
12 dashes Mr. Lee's Ancient Chinese Secret Bitters

Combine the honey, water, star anise, ginger, and orange peel in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to a slow simmer. Continue simmering for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain out the spices.
In a large pitcher, combine the rye, bitters, lemon juice and ½ cup of the Spiced Honey Syrup. Stir until combined. This can be made and kept refrigerated for several days.
When ready to serve, add ice to the pitcher with the cocktail. Squeeze the lemon peels and orange peels on top to express their oils, then drop the peels into the mix. (You can also add a few whole star anise pods for styling, if you like.) Stir to combine.
Pour into 6 rocks glasses, adding more ice from the pitcher to each glass as needed. Top each glass with 1 oz of ginger beer and two dashes of Mr. Lee's Ancient Chinese Secret Bitters. Garnish each glass with an orange or lemon twist and one pod of star anise.

You may have a little Spiced Honey Syrup leftover; it can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 weeks and mixed with other cocktails.

Recipe adapted from: Petrosky, Maureen. "Spiced Rye and Honey Cocktail." The Kitchn. November 2014.