fentiman's ginger beer:

my ginger ale at 712

nate's drink in seattle:

two summer's ago, nate and i spent a week or so in seattle helping my sister move but mostly just spent our time exploring the sound, sailing, and hiking. on the last night of our ventures, the family met at a restaurant built onto a dock, overlooking sunset on the puget sound. nate ordered a ginger ale and quickly had me try it - this was my first real ginger ale, with a biting sharp ginger edge to offset the creamy sweeter side of the drink. that drink is what started our fetish with making homemade ginger ale.

picture from seattle dock restaurant

two years and many liters of ginger root concoctions later, and we finally feel like we have bested the taste of true homemade ginger ale. our mixture includes heavy amounts of boiled ginger roots, cloves, cinnamon, spearmint and mojito mint leaves, vanilla, and a fair amount of brown sugar - oh, and a few hours of work. which is the problem.

fentiman's:
since i don't always have a few spare hours to make the drink, i've found rock solid stand-in. i don't know how many different brands of ginger ale i've tried, but so far fentiman's ginger beer is the best. i was recommended the ginger soda by the good folks at 712 pizzeria - the waiter said that he doesn't often sell the drink because it has a kick that can repel some customers. the ginger beer has a dry authentic ginger flavor, 'dry' in that it doesn't leave a sticky non-refreshing taste that often accompanies the high fructose syrup versions. the drink is creamy and sweet, but by the time you set the glass down, there's a small yet thickly ginger-tinted burn towards the back of your throat. i like the juxtaposition of the sweet mixed with the earthy organic ginger burn, and i think that fentiman's has the best ginger ale for sale.