Ginger manifests as an earthy, pungent, and spicy influence in whisky, but it’s a flavor with the versatility to complement savory and sweet flavors too. Unquestionably, it can be hot and fiery, yet it can yield citrus, herbal, and woody notes as well. It’s one of the world’s most familiar spices and has strong associations with cooking, baking, and drinking traditions.
There’s fresh ginger, with its bulbous, gnarly rhizomes, there’s ground ginger sitting in the spice rack, and there’s the sweetness of crystalized or candied ginger. Many associate ginger with comforting treats such as gingersnap cookies, ginger cake, and gingerbread, and its close cousins lebkuchen and pfeffernüsse. For others, it’s about the fresh ginger that perks up stir-fries, broths, salads, and curries in Asian and Indian cuisine, or the slivers of pickled ginger or gari served alongside sashimi.
Ginger's Flavor in Whisky
Ginger brings a host of flavor opportunities to the curious drinker. It can be consumed in tea and soft drinks, and it’s a popular addition to many cocktail recipes that call for a pour of ginger beer, ginger ale, ginger syrup, ginger liqueur, or simply a dash of ginger bitters. As a flavor, ginger pairs beautifully with honey, citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. If your home cocktail of choice is simply Jameson over ice with ginger ale and a lime wedge (and there’s nothing wrong with that), next time you’re in a decent cocktail bar, ask the bartender to make you a Penicillin and experience the harmony that the ginger brings to the combination of honey, lemon, and peaty scotch.
Gingerol compounds, and there are many, are the active components in ginger, and while the chemistry of ginger is complex, the major aromatic compounds include b-sesquiphellandrene, zingiberene, and AR-curcumene. Ginger’s flavor expression is dependent on the country of origin, the growing conditions, and its form; for example, whether it’s fresh or dried.
Ginger flavors in whisky mainly originate from oak extractives derived from the barrel during maturation, so these are particularly found in older single malt scotches. It can be found in whiskies matured in both bourbon and sherry casks, though each adds its own layers of complementary flavors. Look for it in Speyside single malts, like Macallan, Balvenie, Glenrothes, and Glenlivet, especially those aged 18 years or more. But recently, distillers have figured out a ginger shortcut, one that cannot be followed in Scotland: Teeling and Starward have both released expressions finished in ginger beer-seasoned casks, delivering the most direct yet least mysterious origin of ginger flavors that we’ve ever seen.
Ginger In Its Various Forms
FRESH GINGER: Port Askaig Cask Strength Scotch Single Malt
Sweet lemon, melon, raw ginger, pepper, nutty toffee, earthy peat
GINGERSNAP: Knob Creek 12 year old Bourbon
Iced tea, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, berry cobbler, chocolate ganache, caramel
GINGER BEER: Starward Ginger Beer Cask Finish (No.7) Australian Single Malt
Crystalized ginger, lemongrass, marshmallow, shredded ginger root, citrus peel, almond
