Ginger Ale
Ginger ale is a clear, fizzy ginger-flavoured mixer with no alcohol and far less heat than ginger beer. It comes in two styles: the darker, sweeter golden style that C&C Group’s history credits to the Belfast chemist Thomas Cantrell, who was making ginger ale by 1852, and the paler dry style John McLaughlin launched in Toronto by 1906, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography says. It lengthens cognac in a Horse's Neck and rye in a Presbyterian, and makes up most of a Shirley Temple.
Quick Facts
We keep an opened bottle in the fridge and use it within a day or two, before it goes flat.
None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.
About Ginger Ale
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Crisp and sweet with a gentle ginger lift and no real heat; lighter and drier than ginger beer.
Ginger ale is flavoured, not brewed
Commercial ginger ale is carbonated water, sugar and an acid, flavoured with ginger and other natural flavourings and often coloured with caramel. Nothing ferments, so it pours clear. Ginger beer is cloudier and hotter because it carries ginger root or the residue of brewing. Neither is alcoholic as normally sold, and the names say nothing about strength.
Golden and dry are two styles
The first ginger ale, credited to Thomas Cantrell in Belfast by C&C Group’s own history, was the golden style: dark, sweet and strongly gingered. The dry style came from John McLaughlin in Toronto, launched by 1906, paler and milder, and it is what most mixer bottles are now. "Dry" refers to the ginger and the colour, not to sugar.
Ginger ale styles against ginger beer (dates from C&C Group’s history, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography and the Oxford Companion)
Golden ginger ale
- First made
- Belfast, by 1852 (Cantrell)
- Look
- Dark gold, clear
- Ginger
- Strong and sweet
- Use it for
- Drinking on its own, or a robust spirit
Dry ginger ale
- First made
- Toronto, by 1906 (McLaughlin)
- Look
- Pale, clear
- Ginger
- Mild
- Use it for
- Whisky and brandy highballs
Ginger beer
- First made
- Advertised in bottles by the early 1800s
- Look
- Cloudy
- Ginger
- Hot
- Use it for
- Mules and drinks where the ginger leads
| Drink | First made | Look | Ginger | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden ginger ale | Belfast, by 1852 (Cantrell) | Dark gold, clear | Strong and sweet | Drinking on its own, or a robust spirit |
| Dry ginger ale | Toronto, by 1906 (McLaughlin) | Pale, clear | Mild | Whisky and brandy highballs |
| Ginger beer | Advertised in bottles by the early 1800s | Cloudy | Hot | Mules and drinks where the ginger leads |
Brandy, rye and a soft drink use it
Our Horse's Neck hangs a whole lemon spiral in a highball and tops 40ml of cognac with 120ml of ginger ale. The Presbyterian splits 120ml of mixer between ginger ale and soda water over rye, which takes the sweetness down. The Shirley Temple is 150ml of ginger ale with grenadine sunk through it. For a named bottle, Fever-Tree Ginger Ale and its spiced orange version each have a page.
Cold, over plenty of ice and opened last
Fill the glass to the top with ice, add the spirit, then run the ginger ale down the inside of the glass and lift once with a bar spoon. Cold liquid holds its gas; warm ale foams and goes flat in the glass. We give an opened bottle a day or two in the fridge, so buy the size that fits the round.
Using Ginger Ale
Usage
Our ginger ale drinks run from 60ml, with the same of soda water over rye in a Presbyterian, 120ml over 40ml of cognac in a Horse's Neck, 150ml with 15ml of grenadine in a Shirley Temple. Add it cold and last, then stir once.
Pro Tip
When a whisky and ginger ale tastes sweet and dull, cut the ale with soda before you add more whisky. Half and half, as in a Presbyterian, holds on to the ginger and the length while halving the sugar.
Top Tips
- Choose dry ginger ale for whisky and brandy. The golden style is sweeter and more strongly gingered, and can cover a delicate spirit.
- Split it with soda water when a ginger ale tastes too sweet, as the Presbyterian does.
- Cut the Horse's Neck peel before anything else: a whole lemon in one spiral, hooked over the rim before the ice goes in.
- Open small bottles. In our experience an opened bottle loses its lift quickly, and tired ale tastes sugary.
Possible Substitutions
- Ginger Beer: hotter and cloudier: it takes over a light spirit
- Lemon-Lime Soda: sweeter and no ginger: the later Shirley Temple swap
Production Method
Carbonated water with sugar, an acid and ginger flavouring, usually with other natural flavourings and caramel colour. Most commercial ginger ale is flavoured and carbonated rather than fermented, so the liquid stays clear where ginger beer is cloudy. The dry style is paler and lighter in ginger than the golden.
History & Context
C&C Group’s own history says historians widely credit Dr Thomas Joseph Cantrell, born in Dublin in 1827 and a principal assistant at the Belfast chemists Grattan & Co, as the first inventor of ginger ale, and that in 1852 he set up his own chemist business in Belfast, which made ginger ale among its mineral waters. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says John J. McLaughlin of Toronto, who had set out in 1890 to make a pale, dry ginger ale, changed the sweet, dark gold Belfast-style ginger ale he sold to a less sugared, lighter one soon after 1900; J. J. McLaughlin Limited was incorporated in 1905, the drink was launched by 1906 and the Canada Dry trade name was registered on 18 January 1907. The Oxford Companion says the terms ginger ale and ginger beer were interchangeable in the 1800s.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is ginger ale?
Does ginger ale have alcohol in it?
What is the difference between ginger ale and ginger beer?
What is dry ginger ale?
Does whisky go with ginger ale?
What is a Horse's Neck?
Can I use lemonade instead of ginger ale?
How long does ginger ale keep once opened?
What is spiced ginger ale?
Sources.
Checked between 17 October and 19 October 2026.
- C&C Group (Cantrell & Cochrane), “History” (maker’s own history: Dr Thomas Joseph Cantrell, born Dublin 1827, widely credited as the first inventor of ginger ale; own chemist business in Belfast in 1852 making ginger ale).
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography (M. Patricia Bishop), “McLAUGHLIN, JOHN JAMES” (scholarly reference: sweet, dark gold Belfast-style ginger ale changed soon after 1900 to a less sugared, lighter one; incorporated 25 October 1905; launched by 1906; trade name registered 18 January 1907).
- Fever-Tree (UK), “Spiced Orange Ginger Ale”.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Darcy O’Neil), “ginger ale and ginger beer” (secondary source: the terms interchangeable in the 1800s; bottled ginger beer advertised in the early 1800s; McLaughlin patented a formula for “Dry Pale Ginger Ale”).
From the Guides
Styles of ginger ale
Made with Ginger Ale
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026