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Summer calls for a twist on a homemade soda. I went for a long time not really liking Ginger Ale at all. I enjoyed some of the flavoured ones that started to come out seasonally, such as the cranberry and blackberry. However, the straight ginger ale seemed to sweet, and honestly not very gingery.

We went to make a Jamison Ginger and Lime and realized that we did not have any ginger ale. So I hit up Pinterest and looked for a recipe that I could use. I also wanted to use honey rather than sugar. Looking through Pinterest I stumbled on the Ginger Ale Recipe posted on Kitchen Stewardship. I love using honey in simple syrup recipes, using the unrefined honey gives the syrup an amazing flavour that can not be matched using white sugar.

I fell in love with this ginger ale recipe, I used the syrup with sparkling water from the soda stream, as well as mixed into hot water for ginger tea. I was wondering about other ways to use this syrup as well, adding lemon gave it a nice flavour in tea. But then I decided to try and give it a more summery flavour.

Raspberries are a summer berry that I love to add to everything, so when I made this Ginger Ale the last time I decided to add some frozen raspberries to the syrup. Wow, this made for a great summer beverage that is light a refreshing on a hot day. I bet this would taste just as great with strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries.

Tips for adding small helpers

Kaileigh loved making this one with me, it was simple for her to mix all the ingredients together in the pot. I helped with the ginger, as it was a little tough for her to cut, but she simmered it on the stove and then we strained it at the end together to get out all the bits.

Kaileigh loved mixing up the drinks for her siblings adding some extra fruit as a garnish and pouring in the sparkling water to make it fizz. Making it herself made it an extra special drink for our Canada Day celebration.

When adding kids into the equation, make sure you find jobs that they are able to do. It is no fun when they start cutting something and then realize that it is to hard or have never used a knife before. Kids Love to feel involved even if it is just mixing or pouring.

Recipe

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup chopped ginger
• 1/2 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

• Lime wedges
• Raspberries for garnish
• Sparkling water

Instructions

1. Chop the ginger into quarter size pieces you do not need to peel the ginger. Add the ginger, honey, and raspberries to a pot, place the pot on the stove. Add 2 cups of water.
2. Heat on the stove until simmering and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The syrup will reduce slightly but will still be quite thin.
3. Allow to cool completely.
4. Combine 2 oz syrup, lime wedge, a couple raspberries and 6 oz sparkling water and stir. Serve with ice.

You now have a simple homemade raspberry ginger ale. I love to serve this in these jars from amazon, they are pretty and also have lids so they can be taken along anywhere. I am planning on taking the syrup camping with me in the coming weeks that way we can have some natural refreshing beverages on our trip.