Honey is wonderful until you try to stir it into an iced drink. Then it sinks, clings to the spoon, and leaves the top of the glass tasting plain.

Ginger honey syrup fixes that. You get the warmth of fresh ginger and the round sweetness of honey in a syrup that actually mixes into cold tea, lemonade, sparkling water, cocktails, and mocktails.

This is one of those small refrigerator bottles that makes weekday drinks easier. Nothing fancy. Just ginger, water, honey, and a little lemon.

At a Glance

Why Make Honey Syrup

Plain honey is thick. That is part of its charm, but it is also why it refuses to blend into cold drinks.

Honey syrup is simply honey loosened with liquid. Bartenders use it because it pours and measures more easily than straight honey. This version uses ginger water as the liquid, so the syrup brings flavor instead of just sweetness.

I do not boil the honey. The ginger gets simmered first, then the honey is stirred in once the liquid cools a bit. That keeps the flavor softer.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch fine sea salt, optional

Use a mild honey if you want the ginger to lead. Clover, wildflower, orange blossom, and light local honey all work. Strong buckwheat honey can be good, but it will take over.

You do not need to peel the ginger if it is clean. Just scrub it well and slice it thin.

Make the Syrup

Combine sliced ginger and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the ginger steep for 10 minutes. Strain into a heat-safe measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup of strong ginger water. If you have a little less, that is fine.

Let the ginger water cool until it is warm but not hot. Stir in honey, lemon juice, and a tiny pinch of salt if using. The salt should not make the syrup salty. It just sharpens the ginger.

Pour into a clean bottle and refrigerate.

How to Use It

For hot tea, use 1 to 2 teaspoons per mug.

For iced tea or lemonade, use 1 tablespoon per glass, then adjust. Ginger can sneak up on you, especially after the syrup sits overnight.

For sparkling water, combine 1 tablespoon syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice, and 6 to 8 ounces sparkling water over ice.

For cocktails, try it in whiskey sours, bourbon lemonades, hot toddies, dark rum drinks, gin sours, and tequila highballs. For mocktails, pair it with lemon, lime, grapefruit, mint, basil, pear, peach, or black tea.

Storage

Keep the syrup refrigerated and use it within 2 weeks. It may thicken slightly when cold. Shake before using.

If it smells fermented, grows mold, fizzes hard, or changes texture, throw it out. This is a refrigerator syrup, not a shelf-stable preserve.

Honey should not be given to children under 1 year old. That applies here too.

Easy Variations

Ginger lime honey syrup: Use lime juice instead of lemon juice.

Ginger turmeric honey syrup: Add 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric to the ginger while it simmers. Strain through cloth if you want it smoother.

Ginger mint honey syrup: Add a small handful of mint after the heat is off and steep for only 5 minutes.

Extra-hot ginger syrup: Use 1 1/2 cups sliced ginger and steep for 15 minutes after simmering.

My Favorite Glass

Add 1 tablespoon ginger honey syrup and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a glass of ice. Top with cold sparkling water and stir.

It tastes like ginger lemonade without the work, which is exactly why I keep making it.