The Lemon Fool

It has been a very cold day where I live, hardly above 1C, so this evening for the first time for a long while I made up a whisky mac. As it happens I used Stones Green Ginger, a variety put together in London. IT was what was to hand. Not particularly good so I raked around in my drinks cupboard and found what was left of Crabbies Green Ginger. The difference is amazing, Crabbies being much more 'gingery' and spicy. It is made up in Edinburgh according to the label. They are both 13.5% so that is not the point. For anyone who is not familiar with the drink, it is 50/50 whisky and green ginger wine. Quite wonderful and either are most warming on a cold day, but Crabbies for me every time.

Dod

Dod101 wrote:It has been a very cold day where I live, hardly above 1C, so this evening for the first time for a long while I made up a whisky mac. As it happens I used Stones Green Ginger, a variety put together in London. IT was what was to hand. Not particularly good so I raked around in my drinks cupboard and found what was left of Crabbies Green Ginger. The difference is amazing, Crabbies being much more 'gingery' and spicy. It is made up in Edinburgh according to the label. They are both 13.5% so that is not the point. For anyone who is not familiar with the drink, it is 50/50 whisky and green ginger wine. Quite wonderful and either are most warming on a cold day, but Crabbies for me every time.

Dod

I love this drink. But it doesn't love me back

Note to self - add Crabbies to Xmas wish list

AiY

I well remember a similar moment when my local Tesco (I think) had run out of the Stones variety that I was used to.
I found Crabbies a very different drink: far more subtle (many different spicy tastes coming through) and also much less 'in your face' raw gingery than the Stones.
A further recommendation for it.

I generally keep some Rochester Ginger around the house. A fine drink on its own (and one to offer to guests who are driving or otherwise off-the-booze), but also mixes nicely with a whisky.

For the winter season, there's a variety that's good to drink hot (and mixes well with other strong spirits), though it does tend to be fearsomely sweet.

I remember as a 17 year old with a stinking cold, one winter's evening, stopping off at a pub on my motorbike and downing a couple of Whisky Macs, before driving on in the cold wet weather. Drink driving hadn't been thought of in those days.

The problem is that all makers of ginger wine have reduced the alcoholic content of ginger wine from 17.5% (where it was last century) to 13.5% to-day. And as a result the wine has become sweeter. The simply solution its to alter the mix from the traditional 50:50 to 60:40. That's 60% whisky and 40% ginger wine. Simples.