Although I loathe that soapy tasting pickled ginger that comes with sushi, I love ginger in all of it's other forms. Turn it into a sugary syrup and mix it with some citrus vodka & you are really speaking my language! I had one on Friday night and then over the weekend, decided to try to reinvent it at home. I think I came pretty close.

A sweet, spicy, lemony ginger syrup. A lemon thyme and ginger sugared rim. And a squeeze of lime. It's as easy as that!

I was actually reading a recipe for something else when I came across the instructions to throw the ginger into the food processor, skin on, in order to keep it from turning into total mush. Seems counter intuitive, I know, but it really does give it more of a chopped consistency, so do it.  I put in about a 3-4 inch piece, then added it to 2 cups water and about a cup and a half cup of sugar, and a tablespoon or so of lemon juice then simmered until it became a decently think syrup.

Let syrup cool and then strain mixture. Reserve ginger for other exciting uses. (I mixed some in with some sauteed carrots later that night and they were divine!)

While the ginger syrup is cooling, combine sugar, lemon thyme & a bit of the reserved minced ginger and mush up with a mortar & pestle. I would have put in some lemon zest if I had it, but noooo.... instead I added a bit of lemon grass instead. Pour sugar onto a plate, then wet the rim of your glass and roll around in the sugar. As it dries it becomes like a sugary, gingery candy on the rim of your glass.

Combine 1/3 Cup (or however much you like) of the ginger syrup with a shot of citrus vodka and a couple of wedges of lemon (squeezed into shaker) and ice into a cocktail shaker. Shake and then pour into your swanky, sugar-rimmed glass & enjoy!

Check out www.swigsandgrinds.blogspot.com for more images.

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