Lincoln Road
A mocktail inspired by NYC summer heat.
August 1, 2020
It’s 85 degrees today in NYC. While that temperature is hot regardless of where you are, I can’t let this go without saying that I’m a Floridian. Today the high in Tampa, FL is 93 degrees and I feel for my people there in more ways than just the temperature. Guess you can say I’m used to the heat, but it’s rare that an apartment in the Northeast has central air, and you walk outside a lot vs in FL you usually jump from one ACed container (house) to another (car). Up here your relationship to the heat is a bit more intimate. So, I currently have fan blowing on me and an AC window unit on the other side of the apartment working hard to cool the spot down. Needless to say, I’m perpetually sweating and always in need of a cold beverage- so here’s a Lincoln Road.
*Scroll to the very bottom for just the recipe.
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:
Ginger simple syrup
Lime
Bubbly water
Fresh mint
How to make the simple syrup:
Scrape off the ginger skin with a spoon in the direction you see in the picture. It comes off easily with this method and you don’t lose any ginger root unlike if you try to slice it off.
After scraping off the skin, slice your ginger into disks. This way it makes it easier to remove the chunks from the syrup.
In a small pot, place 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup of your sliced ginger. Give it all a stir and bring it to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. Let it go for 15 min or until the mixture becomes an amber color.
This will give you about a 1/2 cup of ginger simple syrup. You can leave the ginger disks in the syrup to continue intensifying the flavor. You can also eat the ginger bits. They are delicious and slightly candied. Allow your syrup to cool down to room temperature before preparing your drink.
In a short glass, or tall if you want to double the recipe, place 6 mint leaves and ice and squeeze a quarter lime which comes out to about a 1/2 tablespoon.
Now, this depends on how sweet or strong of ginger you want your drink to be, but I put 3 teaspoons of ginger simple syrup. If you decide to add alcohol because, well, that seems like an obvious segue, I’d recommend adding more syrup. Adjust all ingredients to your liking.
Now pour in your bubbles and give it all a good stir.
Now it’s time to cool off with a Lincoln Road and appreciate it’s not winter.
Lincoln Road Recipe
Serves 1, but ginger simple syrup is good for 8 drinks
INGREDIENTS
Fresh mint leaves- 6
Fresh lime juice - 1/2 tablespoon
Ginger simple syrup - 3 teaspoons (Scroll up to see how to make the syrup. You’ll need 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup peeled and sliced ginger root.)
Seltzer water - 1 cup
DIRECTIONS
In a short glass (About 2 cups in volume.) put ice about 1/4 of the way and your fresh mint.
Put in your lime juice, ginger simple syrup, and seltzer water and mix.
Enjoy and cool down!