A Refreshing Ginger Ale Recipe to Rival the Best

Gather the ingredients. In a 4-quart saucepan, place the water, ginger, and lemon peel. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer at a low boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, stirring constantly, and continue to boil until reduced to 3 cups (about 15 minutes). Place a fine wire strainer over a large bowl. Pour in the ginger syrup to separate the solids from liquids. Discard the lemon peel. The strained, cooked ginger pieces can be reserved for other uses like vanilla ice cream or yogurt if desired. Allow the ginger simple syrup to cool before pouring into a glass container. Seal it tightly and chill for at least 1 hour until it's cold. You can also store it for up to one week in the fridge. When ready to serve, mix 1/4 cup ginger simple syrup with 1 cup cold club soda per serving and pour over ice. Additional ginger syrup or sugar may be added to sweeten it to taste.