This easy, 3-ingredient Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail is a fresh spin on a classic drink. Made with spicy ginger liqueur, belly-warming bourbon and tart lemon juice, a glass of this smooth ginger drink is sure to warm you up on a chilly fall evening.
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Once sweater weather rolls around, this Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail is one of our favorite fall cocktails. Warm, spicy and smooth, this cozy ginger bourbon drink is a repeat guest at happy hour.
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Why you'll love this drink
➤ Made with only three ingredients (bourbon, ginger liqueur and fresh lemon juice), this drink goes from shaker to glass in minutes.
➤ A traditional gold rush cocktail is made with bourbon, honey syrup and lemon juice. Swapping out the honey syrup for fragrant ginger liqueur gives our ginger drink an instant upgrade in flavor.
➤ With so few ingredients, it's easy to shake up a glass anytime. This smooth and spicy cocktail is ideal for any fall occasion, from impromptu backyard bonfires with the neighbors to cozy nights at home on the couch.
Ingredients
A few quality ingredients make all the difference in something being good and something being great. You only need three ingredients for this ginger liqueur cocktail.
A few ingredient notes:
- Bourbon - I am partial to Bulleit but feel free to use your favorite bourbon in this recipe.
- Ginger liqueur - There are several ginger liqueurs available at the liquor store. The most widely known is Domaine de Canton.
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed juice is the only option here. The bottled stuff has preservatives that will impact the flavor of your drink.
Instructions
This boozy drink is a wee bit stronger than most Gold Rush cocktails thanks to the addition of ginger liqueur. But it's still a very well-balanced drink that is quick and easy to make.
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds and strain into a low ball glass filled with ice.
Note: You can also serve this drink straight up in a coupe glass. Give it a little extra shake time to ensure an icy cold drink if serving this way.
FAQs
Nope, it's not. Ginger liqueur is a smooth alcoholic cordial with a rich ginger flavor. Ginger ale and most ginger beers are bubbly and non-alcoholic.
A few of our favorite cocktails that also use ginger liqueur are these Ginger Pear Martinis, made with pear vodka and ginger liqueur, and these Prosecco Cocktails made with fresh grapefruit juice and ginger liqueur (and should legally replace all boring mimosa recipes at brunch everywhere, in my opinion).
Ginger liqueur can be stored at room temperature. It does not require refrigeration.
Expert tips for making a Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail
✘ You can seamlessly substitute your favorite whiskey for bourbon in this recipe.
✘ Fresh lemon juice makes a big difference in the flavor of this drink. (The bottled juices contain preservatives that affect flavor.) It takes just a minute to squeeze enough juice for this cocktail. This inexpensive citrus juicer is one of our favorite kitchen tools that we couldn't live without. It even has measurement markers on the side of the container so you can see exactly how much juice you're squeezing out of your fruits.
✘ Shake, shake and shake again. Most people tend to undershake their cocktails. Alcohol and fruit juice require at least 30 seconds of shaking to emulsify properly. That extra bit of shaking time also allows the ice to dilute the drink just enough to keep it perfectly balanced.
✘ You can serve this cocktail over ice in a low ball glass or you can serve it straight up in a coupe glass. If serving in coupe glass, give it an extra long shake in the cocktail shaker to ensure it stays icy cold while you're drinking it. No one likes a lukewarm cocktail.
✘ Want to make a batch of Ginger Gold Rush Cocktails for a crowd? Since this is only a three ounce drink, it's easy to make multiple drinks at one time when you use this extra large cocktail shaker. Simply multiply the ingredients by the number of guests, shake, strain and serve.
More fall cocktails
You can find more bourbon drinks in our archives!
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Recipe
Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces bourbon
- 1 ounce ginger liqueur
- ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
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Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds until drink is well chilled.1 ½ ounces bourbon, 1 ounce ginger liqueur, ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
- Strain into a low ball glass filled with ice.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute whiskey for bourbon.
- Fresh lemon juice makes a huge difference in the flavor and smoothness of this drink. Avoid the bottled stuff with preservatives.
- Shaking this cocktail for at least 20-30 seconds ensures the juice emulsifies with the alcohols and adequately chills the drink. This is especially important if you serve it straight up in a coupe glass instead of over ice.
- Recipe from Domaine de Canton.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
Chief Kurtz says
Made it with Rye Whiskey (no Bourbon in the house). Tasted great.
Renee says
Recipe is unclear for amount of ginger...1 1.5 oz? Then doubled it's 5 oz? I don't think so.
Thanks for catching that! It’s 1 1/2 ounces of ginger liqueur so doubled would be 3. Recipe has been updated!
Lucy Magee says
I like it with 1 1/2 ounces Domaine and 2 ounces of bourbon. Not as sweet that way.