The Wayfarer's Rest
A tall tequila drink with fresh lime, house ginger syrup and a pinch of salt, shaken and topped with soda water over ice; garnished with a lime wheel and candied ginger.
Ingredients
- 2 oz / 60 ml Reposado tequila, 100% agave
- 0.75 oz / 22 ml Lime juice, fresh
- 0.75 oz / 22 ml Ginger syrup (house, fresh ginger)House recipe in the batching and preparation notes.
- 1 small pinch Fine sea salt
- 2 oz / 60 ml Soda water, well chilled
- Technique
- Shaken
- Glass
- Highball
- Ice
- Cubed
- Prep
- 5 min · Intermediate
- Garnish
- Lime wheel and a piece of candied ginger on a pick.
- Approximate strength
- about 13% ABV in the glass
- Allergens
- None listed
Method
Fill a highball glass with cubed ice and set it aside to chill.
Ice to the brim; the road has been long and the glass should be colder than the evening.
Measure the tequila, lime juice, ginger syrup and salt into a shaker tin.
Agave, lime, ginger and a grain of salt, the whole journey in four pours.
Fill the tin two-thirds with cubed ice, seal, and shake for 8 to 10 seconds; a shorter shake than a sour served up, because the soda will add more dilution.10 sec
A short, sharp shake. Save some of the cold for the climb.
Strain into the ice-filled highball glass.
Pale gold over ice, settling into the glass like a traveler into a chair.
Top with 2 oz (60 ml) chilled soda water poured down the inside of the glass, then lift once from the bottom with a barspoon to combine.
One lift of the spoon and the bubbles carry the ginger up through the glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel tucked against the inside of the glass and a piece of candied ginger on a pick across the rim. Serve with a straw if wanted.
A wheel of lime for the road behind, a bite of candied ginger for the one ahead.
Flavor notes
Cooked agave and light vanilla from the reposado, fresh ginger heat building through the middle, lime and bubbles keeping the finish clean. Medium-dry, lively, with real ginger warmth rather than ginger-ale sweetness.
Substitutions
- Reposado tequila: Blanco tequila, same measure · Sharper and more vegetal; a cleaner drink for a hot afternoon with less of the vanilla warmth.
- Ginger syrup plus soda: Omit both and top with 3 oz (90 ml) of a dry ginger beer, cutting the lime to 0.5 oz (15 ml) · The quick bar version. Ginger beers vary a great deal in sugar and heat, so taste before serving.
- Lime juice: Half lime, half lemon, 0.75 oz (22 ml) total · Softer acid; useful if the limes on hand are harsh.
Without alcohol
Shake 2 oz (60 ml) of a zero-proof agave spirit alternative (or 1.5 oz / 45 ml cold chamomile tea with 0.25 oz / 7.5 ml agave nectar if none is available) with 0.75 oz (22 ml) lime juice, 0.75 oz (22 ml) ginger syrup and a pinch of salt, strain over ice and top with 2 oz (60 ml) soda. Garnish the same way.
Batching
House ginger syrup (the one house preparation in this drink): peel and finely grate 150 g fresh ginger (a piece about the size of a hand). Combine with 1 cup (200 g) white sugar and 1 cup (240 ml) water in a small pan, bring to a simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes), remove from heat, cover and steep 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh, pressing the solids with a spoon, then bottle and refrigerate; keeps about 2 weeks and loses heat as it ages. Batch for 8 drinks: 16 oz (480 ml) reposado tequila, 6 oz (180 ml) ginger syrup and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt can be bottled together and refrigerated for a month; add 6 oz (180 ml) fresh lime juice on the day. Shake each 3.5 oz (105 ml) portion briefly with ice, strain over fresh ice and top each glass with 2 oz (60 ml) soda to order. Do not add soda to the batch.
Reposado tequila, fresh ginger and lime, lengthened with soda
There is a bench outside every good inn where the dust of the road comes off before the door opens. This is the drink for that bench. Reposado tequila, rested a few months in oak, brings cooked agave and a little vanilla warmth. Fresh ginger, grated into a syrup, brings heat of the kind that loosens the shoulders. Lime brings the cold. Soda carries all of it up the glass in a long, slow climb. It is tall, bright, and built for the hour between arriving and being announced.