Malt & Ginger

About the Malt & Ginger

Malt & Ginger is a two-ingredient highball built for simplicity: Timber Creek’s Florida Single Malt Whiskey topped with ginger ale and finished with a lemon wedge. It’s the kind of drink you can make correctly on the first try, and it exists to let the whiskey’s malt character shine through a light, fizzy, slightly spiced mixer rather than getting dressed up with a long ingredient list. What makes single malt whiskey a good fit for a ginger ale highball is its natural sweetness and body. Ginger ale already carries its own spice and sugar, and a thinner or more neutral whiskey can get lost underneath that, but Timber Creek’s Florida Single Malt Whiskey, built through the distillery’s grain-to-glass process on its Crestview farm, has enough malted-grain depth to hold its own against the ginger and sweetness rather than disappearing into the glass.

The lemon wedge at the finish adds a small citrus lift that keeps the whole drink from tasting flat or one-dimensional. To build it, fill a highball glass with ice, pour in the whiskey, top slowly with ginger ale so it doesn’t go flat, give it one gentle stir, and squeeze in the lemon wedge before dropping it in. Because there are only three components, the quality of each one matters more than usual, and a whiskey with real malt backbone is what keeps this drink from tasting like flavored soda. It’s a low-effort, high-reward drink, well suited to a backyard cookout, a pool day, or any setting where you want something whiskey-based that still feels light in the Florida heat.

On the food side, grilled shrimp and roasted vegetables both work nicely, since the char from the grill and the natural sweetness of roasted vegetables complement the malt and ginger without fighting for attention. This is an easygoing cocktail meant for easygoing occasions, so keep the pace relaxed, stay hydrated between rounds, and drink responsibly, especially if the sun and the setting have you tempted to lose count.

Malt & Ginger is a two-ingredient highball built for simplicity: Timber Creek’s Florida Single Malt Whiskey topped with ginger ale and finished with a lemon wedge. It’s the kind of drink you can make correctly on the first try, and it exists to let the whiskey’s malt character shine through a light, fizzy, slightly spiced mixer rather than getting dressed up with a long ingredient list. What makes single malt whiskey a good fit for a ginger ale highball is its natural sweetness and body. Ginger ale already carries its own spice and sugar, and a thinner or more neutral whiskey can get lost underneath that, but Timber Creek’s Florida Single Malt Whiskey, built through the distillery’s grain-to-glass process on its Crestview farm, has enough malted-grain depth to hold its own against the ginger and sweetness rather than disappearing into the glass.

The lemon wedge at the finish adds a small citrus lift that keeps the whole drink from tasting flat or one-dimensional. To build it, fill a highball glass with ice, pour in the whiskey, top slowly with ginger ale so it doesn’t go flat, give it one gentle stir, and squeeze in the lemon wedge before dropping it in. Because there are only three components, the quality of each one matters more than usual, and a whiskey with real malt backbone is what keeps this drink from tasting like flavored soda. It’s a low-effort, high-reward drink, well suited to a backyard cookout, a pool day, or any setting where you want something whiskey-based that still feels light in the Florida heat.

On the food side, grilled shrimp and roasted vegetables both work nicely, since the char from the grill and the natural sweetness of roasted vegetables complement the malt and ginger without fighting for attention. This is an easygoing cocktail meant for easygoing occasions, so keep the pace relaxed, stay hydrated between rounds, and drink responsibly, especially if the sun and the setting have you tempted to lose count.