Franklin & Sons Original Ginger Ale
Franklin & Sons’ dry ginger ale: sparkling water, sugar, ginger extract and caramel sugar syrup, with no artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners or preservatives. It is the gluten-free half of their ginger pair, and the restrained one.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Clean ginger aroma over a genuinely dry finish: the polished half of the ginger family, made to lengthen rather than lead.
Storage & Handling
Cool, sealed, cold for service, small formats.
Usage
Poured over 50ml of whisky or an aged rum in a highball. It comes in 200ml, which is one drink, and it is dry enough to leave a good spirit doing the talking rather than arguing with it.
A Short List
Sparkling water, sugar, citric acid, natural flavours, ginger extract and caramel sugar syrup. That is the whole of it, and Franklin & Sons state there are no artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners or preservatives in the bottle. The caramel is a sugar syrup rather than the plain caramel colouring most soft drinks reach for, which is a small distinction and a real one, since it is a cooked sugar rather than an additive carrying an E number. It contributes the colour and a trace of its own flavour with it.
Against Their Own Ginger Beer
The two bottles from the same house sit further apart than the shared name suggests. The ginger beer is genuinely fermented, carries malted barley and hops, and is therefore not gluten free. This is a straightforward carbonated mixer, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian, with the ginger present as an extract and nothing brewed about it at all. Choosing between them is less a question of strength than of what the drink needs, which is either body and malt, or length and restraint.
The British Dry Style
Dry ginger ale is a British category with a specific character: pale, clean, moderately sweet, and finishing quickly, built as a mixer rather than as a soft drink to be enjoyed on its own. It stands against the American style, which tends sweeter and softer, and against ginger beer, which is cloudy and hot. At 33 kcal and 7.9 grams of sugar per 100ml this sits with the conventional mixers rather than the light ones, so dry describes the finish and not the sugar.
In the Glass
Ice to the top, spirit, then the ale poured down the side. Whisky is the natural partner and an aged rum runs it close. A lemon twist rather than a wedge suits it, since the drink wants aroma rather than more acid, and a wheel of orange works with a darker spirit. The 200ml format is one drink by design, which is the sensible way to buy any carbonated mixer.
Pro Tip
Judge a ginger ale by its finish: if the sweetness outlasts the ginger, it is a soft drink moonlighting.
Top Tips
- Choose it over their ginger beer when the spirit matters. This is the restrained one of the pair.
- It is gluten free where their brewed ginger beer is not. The malted barley is the difference.
- Twist a lemon over it rather than dropping a wedge in. The drink wants aroma, not more acid.
Possible Substitutions
- Fever-Tree Ginger Ale: the parallel bottle; the smoky variant where whisky wants a shadow
History & Context
Dry ginger ale is the ginger family's diplomatic wing, and the British soda houses of the Victorian era built the style. Franklin & Sons' version keeps the house dryness: ginger polish for the highball century.
Common Questions
Ginger ale or ginger beer?
Within this house it is a bigger decision than usual. Their ginger beer is genuinely brewed, malty and not gluten free, while this is a clean carbonated mixer that is. Ale for a spirit worth tasting, and beer for a Mule that needs body behind it.
What marks the British dry style?
Pale colour, a clean finish and moderate sweetness, built to lengthen a spirit rather than to be drunk alone. It runs against the American style, which is softer and sweeter, and against ginger beer, which is cloudy and carries heat. Dry describes the finish rather than the sugar.
How should it be served?
Over a full glass of ice with 50ml of whisky or aged rum, poured down the side so the bubbles survive. Finish with a lemon twist rather than a wedge, since the drink wants aroma rather than more acid. The 200ml bottle is one drink by design.
Is it gluten free?
Yes, and their brewed ginger beer is not, which is the one thing worth knowing before buying across this range. This carries ginger extract and caramel sugar syrup with nothing brewed in it, while the ginger beer is fermented from malted barley.
Often Used With
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits