In Cocktail Recipes, Homemade Ingredients, Nerdery

Here’s a step-by-step recipe for creating this syrup, used in the Coloradoan and Expatriate recipes, among others.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 large Ancho chile (pliable, not brittle)
  • 1-2 Morita chiles (also pliable)
  • 4″ fresh ginger root, about 1-1.5″ diameter

Step by Step:

1. Remove stems and de-seed the chiles. Place in bowl with hot water for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate them.

2. Wash ginger root, and cut off any bad spots/woody spots. Cut 3½” of it into slices, about 1/4″ thick. Peel remaining 1/2″ if ginger and reserve for later.

3. Remove chiles from water and shake off excess. Rough chop chiles into medium-sized pieces.

4. Add sugar, water, chiles and cut ginger slices to a pot, stir well.

5. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring periodically.

6. While it simmers, use a microplane zester or small grater to grate the remaining 1/2″ piece of peeled ginger root.

7. Remove pot from heat, and stir in the freshly grated ginger.

8. Allow mixture to cool completely, then strain through a fine strainer. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.