Catchgroove Signature Cocktail: The Welby

I am not much of a cocktail guy, I mainly drink beer and spirits neat. But I do make a few classics: Gin Martini, Old Fashioned, Negroni (Tequila vs Gin), Gin & Tonic, Moscow Mule, etc. About 20 years ago I invented my own cocktail and named it “The Welby” after myself. It is simply a Moscow Mule substituting Irish Whiskey for Vodka. But I would like to think I have added a little more originality.

A cocktail needs its own glass, The Welby uses a standard beer pint glass.

Ingredients:

• Ice
• Irish Whiskey – I prefer a basic like Jameson – two shots
• Bitters – a dash
• Ginger Beer – this is going to be the most dominant taste, so pick a ginger beer you like. If ginger beer is too intense use ginger ale.
• Crystalized Ginger – for some this is too intense of a ginger flavor and can be dropped
• Fresh lime – I use half lime.

Recipe:

Fill a pint glass with ice. Squeeze half a lime into the glass. Add two shots of Irish whiskey, a piece of crystallized ginger and a dash of bitters. Top off with ginger beer. Stir and serve. Adding a fresh wedge of lime is optional.

The secret sauce is the ginger beer- I like to use a high-end cane sugar-based ginger beer as it has a little more bite. My favorite of the moment is Reed’s Strongest.

My wife likes to joke that my full-on ginger cocktail is like drinking a urinal cake and I get that. As I mentioned in the ingredients section the ginger flavor can be toned down by using ginger ale and skipping the crystallized ginger. But if you are a fan of ginger candy and/or ginger snap cookies, The Welby is for you. The magic here is the combination of whiskey and ginger beer.