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what is your favorite ginger beer? |
thePorpoise
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 23, 2011
Posts: 1050
From: Tampa Bay
|  Posted: 2011-04-10 11:13 am Permalink
I've had four Caribbean-brand ginger beers: Barritt's, Blue Sky, Gosling's, and Reed's. (haven't found Regatta anywhere).
Of these, I found the Blue Sky utterly repugnant; and the Reed's refreshing, but not gingery enough as it is sweetened with honey and pineapple. The Barritt's and Gosling's tasted remarkably similar, with the Gosling's having slightly more ginger bite and the Barritt's tasting slightly sweeter (fwiw, the Barritt's is sweetened with cane, while the Gosling's has the dreaded "all natural" corn syrup).
I tried these out in a Dark and Stormy-- I preferred the Barritt's, wife preferred the Gosling's.
what are your favorites; and, which makes the best (Egyptian recipe) Suffering Bastard??
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Limbo Lizard
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Joined: Aug 24, 2006
Posts: 655
From: Aboard the 'Leaky Tiki', Dallas
| Posted: 2011-04-10 12:19 pm Permalink
I buy D&G Old Jamaican Ginger Beer from the 'International Foods' aisle at Krogers - 2 liters for $1.99 (made by the same company that makes Ting grapefruit soda). It is very gingery - quite a "bite". It is sweetened with sugar, not HFCS. Don't know how it compares to Gosling's, et al. Since it has such a strong ginger and lime taste, I use it as a base for a teriyaki marinade, too. Just add garlic and soy sauce.
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"The rum's the thing..."
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thePorpoise
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 23, 2011
Posts: 1050
From: Tampa Bay
| Posted: 2011-04-10 12:41 pm Permalink
i tried that brand ages ago and found it to be suckyish, but i shall revisit and report back.
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khan_tiki_mon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 15, 2006
Posts: 276
From: Syracuse, NY
| Posted: 2011-04-10 5:51 pm Permalink
I just concluded an experiment where I made dark n stormys with 2 different rums and 3 different ginger beers. The three ginger beers were Barritt's, Goslings, and Saranac. The rums I tried were the Gosling's Black Seal and Cruzan Blackstrap. The ginger beer I preferred was the Saranac. The rum I preferred was the Cruzan. Of the six combos my favorite was Cruzan Blackstrap with Saranac ginger beer.
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thePorpoise
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 23, 2011
Posts: 1050
From: Tampa Bay
| Posted: 2011-04-10 8:20 pm Permalink
kewl. ive used Myers's, Goslings, and Bacardi Select.
what recipe did you use?
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nature boy
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 02, 2008
Posts: 69
From: Timonium, Maryland
| Posted: 2011-04-11 05:33 am Permalink
Porpoise,
Where can I locate your brands? I want to try some out.
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thePorpoise
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 23, 2011
Posts: 1050
From: Tampa Bay
| Posted: 2011-04-11 09:27 am Permalink
the Reed's seems to be in most grocery stores around here, often in the organics section, and at Whole Foods (i prefer the extra ginger Reed's which i've only seen here at Whole Foods).
the Gosling's i've found at ABC liquors and Total Wine and More, the Barritt's only at Total Wine and More so far. i think these are both bottled/canned in the US under Bermuda 'supervision,' so you may want to try your local liquor stores.
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aquarj
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 02, 2002
Posts: 1055
From: SF bay area, CA
| Posted: 2011-04-11 12:57 pm Permalink
I remember reading some detailed notes on ginger beer and related subjects over at Scottes Rum Pages. He used to post here occasionally too. Good mentions for Ginger People, Barritt's, and Reed's.
I use Cock & Bull since it's easy to get and pretty good. But I might not know what I'm missing with others I haven't tried. Probably the choice depends on what you're using it for - straight beverage, mixing with a dark rum, or mixing specifically with a "black" rum for a Dark & Stormy.
-Randy
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thePorpoise
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 23, 2011
Posts: 1050
From: Tampa Bay
| Posted: 2011-04-11 1:02 pm Permalink
altho a Dark and Stormy aint bad, i really like a Moscow Mule better- the vodka, lime and ginger really refresh.
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tiknician
Member
Joined: Apr 11, 2011
Posts: 5
From: SF CA
| Posted: 2011-04-11 5:11 pm Permalink
I have made a number of Dark 'n' Stormies, all using Gosling's Black Seal, but with a variety of ginger beers. Here are the results of my scientific research.
Fever Tree : good ginger bite, not too sweet, very pleasant drink.
Bundaberg : good ginger bite, a bit sweeter than Fever Tree, but not too much so. A little more carbonation than FT, which I think is good for a D&S.
Reed's Extra Ginger : I found this to be bland and unfocused compared to the others; I found it distinctly inferior (though I did finish my drink.)
Fentiman's : I have not tried this one yet, it's up next.
So, if I had to pick a favorite out of the ones I've tried so far, I would go with the Bundaberg. I would never complain about the Fever Tree, though.
Will post back once I've gotten around to the Fentiman's.
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Kahuna Kevin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 12, 2010
Posts: 177
From: Mountain View, CA
| Posted: 2011-04-15 7:56 pm Permalink
Give me Fentiman's or give me death.
Try the Fentiman's Curiousity Cola as well as it has a slight ginger taste. I'm using both in my next book.
[ This Message was edited by: Kahuna Kevin 2011-04-15 19:58 ]
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5786
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2011-04-15 9:18 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-04-10 11:13, thePorpoise wrote:
what is your favorite ginger beer?
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I prefer Mary Ale!
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rupe33
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 08, 2004
Posts: 317
From: DC Metro Area (MD)
| Posted: 2011-04-26 06:44 am Permalink
Maine Root Ginger Beer has phenomenal flavor. If you **really** love ginger -- I mean you don't mind so much ginger that it can almost burn a bit going down -- you should try this stuff. Our local food co-op carries it, but a higher end grocery store near you might carry it as well:
http://www.maineroot.com/products_gingerbrew.php
Mixes really well with the Kraken!
Cheers,
Rupe
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Shaun of theTiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 25, 2008
Posts: 109 | Posted: 2011-04-26 08:22 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-04-26 06:44, rupe33 wrote:
Maine Root Ginger Beer has phenomenal flavor. If you **really** love ginger -- I mean you don't mind so much ginger that it can almost burn a bit going down -- you should try this stuff. Our local food co-op carries it, but a higher end grocery store near you might carry it as well:
http://www.maineroot.com/products_gingerbrew.php
Mixes really well with the Kraken!
Cheers,
Rupe
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Maine Root mixed with Coruba Dark makes an awesome Dark & Stormy.
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CucamongaChango
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 13, 2008
Posts: 264
From: Denver, CO
| Posted: 2011-04-27 7:03 pm Permalink
I like the Bundaberg pretty well... but for the mega-ginger BOOM, it's gotta be Cock & Bull.
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