14 Easy Cocktails For Ginger Ale Fans

Alcohol is in ginger ale's DNA. The difference between ginger ale and ginger beer is that key ingredient. Though commercial ginger beers today typically only contain trace amounts of alcohol, that wasn't the case when it was invented in England during the early 19th century. Brewed from ginger, water, lemon juice, and sugar, it would've been one of the stronger pints at your local, with two to three times the ABV of today's average Budweiser or Guinness.

It wasn't until the mid-1800s that non-alcoholic ginger ale came to be in Ireland. A Canadian pharmacist named John McGlaughlin crafted his own spin on the Emerald Isle original in 1904, thus creating the famous Canada Dry Ginger Ale — dry, as opposed to golden, which is much more full-bodied and gingery, and not as commonly seen in grocery stores.

Along with swing jazz, talking pictures, and hip flasks, ginger ale came into its own during Prohibition. Billed as the perfect mixer for often abysmal-tasting hooch, the popularity of the beverage soared, and Canada Dry grew to be a lucrative and omnipresent brand. The ginger ale industry in general became flooded, with breweries having to manufacture soft drinks as a survival tactic during the decade-long alcohol ban. Thankfully, those days are long over. Any American of legal drinking age is allowed to have a cocktail, and one of the ideal mixers of the era hasn't gone anywhere. Here are 14 easy-to-make mixed drinks for those who love their ginger ale.

Also known as an Irish Buck, at least when used with Irish whiskey, this drink is as classic and simple as it gets. Any whiskey will do here, if you're not a fan of Jameson or the like. Bourbon works especially well, as it adds a bit more sweetness to the mix.

A highball glass is recommended to maintain the cocktail's refreshing taste. Fill that highball with as much ice as you'd like (the more ice, the more bracing the cocktail). Pour in about 1 ½ ounces of whiskey, fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale, and then squeeze a wedge of lime into it before using it to top off the drink. Stir a bit, then you're good to go.

You can change things up according to your preferences, maybe using a little less whiskey and more ginger ale, depending on how many you plan on putting away. (They go down easy.) Alternatively, you could do the opposite if you're ready to sit back and nurse yourself into a nice buzz. Also try a spicier ginger ale for a (welcome) slap to the taste buds.

No, the Moscow Mule was not invented in Moscow. It's an American concoction, and while it was once an obscure cocktail, it's become one of the most ordered drinks in the country. And who doesn't love the signature copper mugs that look like they were forged for an ancient king of Gaul? (But really, they're readily available to order through modern-day means.)

A vodka ginger takes the idea of a Moscow Mule and simply replaces the ginger beer with ginger ale. For this cocktail, you don't need the copper mug (though you can certainly go with it if you'd like, Your Majesty). A highball will do just nicely, and it might even work better to maintain the fizz of the ginger ale.

Add ice to the highball, pour in about 2 ounces of vodka, and then add ½ an ounce of lime juice. Fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale, stir, and garnish with a wedge of lime. You'll have a delicate, refreshing libation that's great for warm weather and sun-dappled gatherings.

There are few things more quintessentially British than Pimm's No.1. Invented by its namesake, James Pimm, in his mid-19th century London oyster house, Pimm's is a gin-based liqueur with a secret, proprietary mix of orange, spices, and herbs.

The Pimm's Cup cocktail (also originated by Mr. Pimm himself) is enjoyed everywhere from Wimbledon to New Orleans. In the latter city, it's long been served in the famous Napoleon House. The establishment's traditional take on a Pimm's Cup calls for sparkling lemonade to provide the carbonation, but that's where ginger ale comes into play as a seamless substitute.

Fill a highball with ice cubes. Pour in about 2 ounces of the Pimm's, and about 3 ounces of ginger ale. Add a cucumber slice and a sprig of fresh mint and, as the Brits say, Bob's your uncle. You'll be ready to watch a tennis match, take in a parading brass band — or just, you know, sit around and enjoy one of the tastiest underrated cocktails you should order more often.

We're turning up the ambition here but still keeping things very doable. There's no mixology course needed to make the invigorating Shady Grove. The cocktail calls for only four ingredients: gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and ginger ale.

If you don't have simple syrup lying around the house, and you don't feel like being weird and running to the nearest coffee shop to ask for a few pumps in a cup, you can easily make your own. Just heat equal parts water and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens. For a sweet variation, you can also make simple syrup with brown sugar.

For the drink itself, pour 2 ounces of gin, 1 ounce of lime juice, and a ½ ounce of your simple syrup into an ice-packed shaker. Shake it all up, then strain the mix into a glass with ice. Top it off with the ginger ale, stir it a bit, and you're good to go. Plus, you'll look like a more adept drink-maker than you might actually be. Hey, fake it till you make it.

The original (American) creator of the Orange Oasis created it to accompany dumplings, giving the false impression to some that it's actually a Chinese drink. No matter, it's a creative and delicious addition to the mixology cannon. And with only two liquors and two mixers, it might become your new favorite brunch companion. The Orange Oasis cocktail has caught on so much that even Canada Dry now promotes its own version of the recipe.

To concoct the bright refreshment, fill a shaker with ice, pour in a ½ ounce of cherry brandy, 1 ½ ounces of gin, and 4 ounces of orange juice. Shake that all up, then strain it into an iced highball. Fill up the remainder of the glass with ginger ale, stir, and serve. If you're able to get your hands on fresh orange juice, or make some yourself, that'll do nicely. Otherwise, lean on one of the best store-bought orange juice brands to whip up this mixed beverage.

The name "buck" in a cocktail refers to any drink containing a spirit, citrus, and ginger ale (or ginger beer). The epithet is said to originate from a non-alcoholic ginger ale cocktail called the Horse's Neck. By adding liquor, the drink would then have a kick to it — a horse's kick, or a buck.

It doesn't get much simpler or more refreshing than this particular buck. Drop ice into a highball glass, and add about 1 ½ ounces of gin along with a ½ ounce of either lemon or lime juice (freshly squeezed if possible). Complete the job with a topper of ginger ale, stir, and garnish with a lemon or lime wedge —easy-peasy, lemon-or-lime-squeezy. 

This is a basic cocktail with a high level of satisfaction and drinkability. Make your own at home to avoid being ripped off by one of the most overpriced menu items at a bar or restaurant. To increase the kick of the ginger, make it with a spicier, golden ginger ale instead of the classic dry style.

The Sleepy Head has been around since at least the 1930s, when it appeared in the popular mixology tome, "The Savoy Cocktail Book" by Harry Craddock. The somnolent moniker might have to do with its main ingredient, brandy, and the liquor's reputation for being a slumber-inducing after-dinner drink. In truth, brandy should get you no sleepier than any other booze, but everybody has their own unique reactions to alcohol.

The Sleepy Head is a simple drink to make, livened up with mint and orange. If you're feeling ambitious, you'll find more complex takes on the cocktail out there, like with any mixed drink — and hey, go for it if you want to push yourself. But the original version is the most straightforward, and no less satisfying.

You want to start by muddling — or basically smushing and mixing together — 5 mint leaves and 3 ounces of brandy at the bottom of your glass. If you don't have a proper muddler on hand, you can use the end of a wooden spoon to do the job. Then, fill the glass with ice and top it off with ginger ale. Garnish with an orange twist.

Don't let the name fool you; you can get very un-religious after a few of these. The Presbyterian, or "Press" as some call it, is a Scotch whiskey-based drink. And we can't help but think there is a bit of irony to the name, as Presbyterianism — a long-time, major Christian sect in Scotland — is not exactly associated with letting loose and boozing.

Regardless, it's a cakewalk of a cocktail to put together. Pack a highball with ice. Add roughly 1 ½ parts Scotch. (You can just eyeball it by looking alongside the glass.) Fill the remainder of the glass with ginger ale. Stir it up a bit and slàinte! A bit of liquid faith is restored.

If you want a variation on this, perhaps with a bit of acidity for balance, you can turn the Presbyterian into a Mamie Taylor by adding a ½ ounce of lime juice and a lime wedge. Who was Mamie Taylor, you might wonder, and why is there a drink named after her? She was a popular opera singer and vaudeville performer right around the turn of the 20th century. Her lasting legacy is in a cocktail that, according to legend, was created for her in a Rochester bar in 1899.

Any drink named El Diablo sounds like a concoction that will have you making terrible decisions, corrupting new friends, and offering excuses to law enforcement as to why you're dancing shirtless on top of a taco truck. But don't let the name scare you. 

El Diablo is a sweet, fizzy, tequila-based cocktail that's as harmless as you want it to be. Invented at Trader Vic's — yes, the same restaurant chain that created the Mai Tai — many decades ago, it was featured in "Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drinks" in 1946. And even though it requires having creme de cassis in your cabinet, it's a cinch to make.

Squeeze ½ a lime into an empty highball, then leave it on the bottom of the glass. Add the ice on top of it, pour in 2 ounces of tequila (preferably reposado) and a ½ ounce of rich, fruity creme de cassis. Use the ginger ale to top it off, and there you have it: a devil's drink that's an angel of a sip.

Befitting its old-timey name, the Cablegram was originally featured in the 1908 book, "The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them", by a man named William Boothby, who was appropriately nicknamed "Cocktail." The original recipe called for bourbon, until a Los Angeles bar called The Varnish reimagined the drink with rye in 2009. 

What also came out of that more recent, more exacting version was the use of ginger syrup and soda. But there's no reason why ginger ale can't do the job instead, as it gives the same effect and provides the same purpose to the mix. It also makes it much easier to put together. Plus, the original recipe called for ginger ale, anyway.

So, how to make it? Fill a shaker with ice, and pour in about 2 ounces of rye and a ½ ounce of lime juice. Shake well. Strain the mix into a highball glass filled with ice, then top it off with ginger ale. If you have crystallized ginger lying around, use that as a garnish. Either way, enjoy.

Want to go a step further into refinement? Get your hands on some Bénédictine liqueur to make an Oh Henry! It's another blast from the past, and from Harry Craddock's "The Savoy Cocktail Book." 

Any version of an Oh Henry! will require the French, brandy-based liqueur along with a whiskey (let's say Scotch, but you can go with bourbon or Irish if you'd like) and ginger ale. What you get in the end is a marriage of the Bénédictine's sweet complexity and ginger ale's fizzy levity, with that bit of Scotch to balance out the deal.  

We'll go with Craddock's recipe here, as it's the most straightforward and no-nonsense. Start by filling a glass with ice. Each of the three ingredients gets an equal pour, so imagine your mixture as getting a proportionate beginning, middle, and end. The beginning: one part Bénédictine. The middle: one part Scotch. The end: one part ginger ale. Give it a steady stir and serve. The garnish can be flexible, but perhaps try a lime wedge or twist of lemon for some acidity? After a few of these beauties, you might just find yourself doing The Charleston.

The Dark n' Stormy (rum and ginger beer) is the unofficial national drink of Bermuda. The Bermuda Highball is another original from the Caribbean country that's often closely identified with its more ominous-sounding counterpart, and — in true Bermudan fashion — it's a perfect libation to enjoy during an extended stay on a beach chair.

Although you have a quartet of ingredients in this recipe, including martini-standard dry vermouth, it's relatively simple to put together — and a fragile, intimidating martini glass won't be necessary. Be wary, however: This is a strong drink, with a power trio of spirits coming right at you.

Once again breaking the liquor components down into parts, you're starting with a basic highball filled with ice, then adding a ½ part of cognac, a ⅓ of dry vermouth, and a ½ of gin. Finish it off with ginger ale, and garnish it with a lemon. Cue sunglasses and an easy recline.

Got some lager or pilsner sitting around in the fridge? Want a cocktail but don't feel like getting completely blitzed? The Ginger Shandy may just be the answer.

The more summery versions of this simple tipple call for carbonated lemonade or Sprite as the mixer, and that's often what you'll get when ordering one at a pub today in the U.K. But the classic take — also originated in Britain, and originally referred to as a "shandy-gaff" by the likes of Charles Dickens — uses ginger ale and has a richer, more balanced flavor.

To make it, get yourself a solid 12-ounce beer glass. Don't add ice, unless you're among the Gen Z drinkers adding ice to their beer — but really, it's not necessary or recommended here. Pour in 6 ounces of your lager or pilsner or even pale ale. Pour in another 6 ounces of ginger ale. Add a lemon wedge for garnish and, if you'd like, a dash of bitters to up the flavor game. Otherwise, sit back and sip on this low-alcohol libation.

Known as the golfer's drink, as it's often enjoyed during a round of 18, the Transfusion rose to popularity on golf courses in the '60s and '70s. However, its origins are clouded in mystery. One persistent rumor has it that President Dwight D. Eisenhower — who spent plenty of downtime playing golf while in the White House — would enjoy one while at Augusta National.

The Transfusion takes no time to make, and you don't need a sand wedge in your hand to imbibe. The recipe has room for plenty of variation, but this version will do nicely: Fill a highball with plenty of ice, add 3 ounces of vodka (this works out to about 2 shots), 1 ½ ounces of grape juice, and a ¼ ounce of fresh lime juice. Close out the job with ginger ale, and add a fruit wedge of your choice for flourish. Frozen grapes are a popular accessory, but edible flowers would also be appropriate.