I have to say that both, my ginger ale and ginger beer are very tasty - and I didn't expected, that this ginger ale "blows my mind".
The label however is quite bold:
"“It should be the aim of every bottler to bring its brand of ginger ale to the highest possible perfection, since a bottler’s products are judged for better or worse by the merit or lack of merit possessed by its ginger ale.” - WB Keller, editor of the National Bottlers Gazette. 1893.
Something happened. Today, ginger ale comes in two disappointing options. A high-fructose laden soda with a slight ginger flavoring or a ginger beer that combines garish amounts of ginger with loads of sugar. Q Ginger is something different. Not too sweet, but clean and crisp with a gingery bite and real depth. We’ve used the best ingredients we could find. We began with real ginger root - bright, earthy, and complex. Then we lightly sweetened Q Ginger with a dash of organic agave, not loads of high fructose corn syrup or sugar. And to make it truly special, we added touches of coriander, cardamom, rose oil, and orange peel. To present the fruits of our labor, we worked with one of New York City’s best designers to develop a bottle as beautiful as the liquid it holds. We’ve come up with a superior ginger ale. One that would impress WB. And good enough to change the way you think about ginger ale.
I also include other ingredients into my homemade ginger ale. I always caramelize sugar, to give it additional depth. Also I am using besides of rather big ginger pieces some orange zest to make it a bit fresher. And a couple of all spice berries also help the overall depth. However I didn't thought about using agave syrup [quite expensive and doesn't really improve the taste], coriander, cardamom [is interesting - will try the next time] and rose oil [why?].
Anyway - how does it fare?
Nose:
Slight citrusy smell with much more dried ginger. Some indistinguishable spices and a floral note. Overall attractive.
4 / 5.
Tongue:
Some good balanced acidity as first impression. Fine carbonation. Ginger bite is directly kicking into your throat and spread some warmth. Confusing other flavors with a faint bitterness are carrying the ginger bite. Much better on room temperature than with ice or on fridge temperatures. Overall less candy'like and less sweet than other commercial sodas.
2.5 / 5.
Overall:
I really don't get this ginger ale. If you serve it on the "normal" drinking temperature it is a mess. When it is then on a temperature, nobody really would drink it, it is much better. But still not that great.
I bought the bottle for AED 34 [which would be almost 7 Euros a 0.75l soda]. Schweppes and Canada Dry cost AED 1.50 a can [or Schweppes has also PET bottles for around AED 12].
Yes Q Ginger is more complex [not necessary tastier], maybe slightly healthier than other commercial sodas. But it is definitely not worth the price [except, that the bottle looks beautiful and looks rather like wine than like ginger ale].
2 / 5.
Still - the best ginger ale is home made. And if you are doing the easy method [cooking a ginger syrup and fill up with soda] everybody can do it and compared to "artisan" sodas, it is so much cheaper! Don't become a marketing victim - just don't!
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