If you don’t have a blender, place the ginger syrup, lemon juice and gin in a cocktail shaker with ice and get you shake on. Harder work but just as tasty!
An abridged, inebriated history
Shaky Pete’s Ginger Brew was conceived by its namesake, Pete Jeary, for a Beefeater Cocktail competition in 2008 (the competition called for a London-inspired cocktail). It wasn’t until 2012 though – during Jeary’s time at Hawksmoor – that the drink took off, quickly becoming its best selling cocktail.
While Beefeater and London Pride may need no introduction for a London-themed cocktail, the other elements may seem a little lost. Jeary explained that he took his inspiration from a visit to former brew house Hay’s Wharf, which was a depository for exotic imports like ginger and lemon.
The ginger syrup brings a lively sweetness to the drink and complements the beer greatly. The drink is lighter than you’d expect, and while Jeary calls it a man’s cocktail, this is one to be enjoyed by all.
Jeary himself suggests the drink as a hangover cure and while it is indeed refreshing enough to be so, it is delicious enough to warrant your full, alert attention. We like using Hernö Navy Strength Gin in there as the gin’s lemony and higher-proof flavours work well against the strong ginger backdrop. A top tip we’ve learned along our many “research” related attempts at making this concoction – the key to this cocktail is in perfecting the ginger syrup. If you have a juicer, make your own from fresh (1 part ginger juice to 1 part sugar), and tweak it to suit your preference.
We’ve taken the recipe from the book Hawksmoor At Home, which also deserves a special mention because other than being an amazing read with beautiful photography – all proceeds from its sale go to Action Against Hunger.
