Ginger ale is easily obtained in grocery stores and on airplanes. But invariably, when I go out to eat, there’s no ginger ale on the beverage menu–or if there is, it will turn out to be the phony version: Coke mixed with 7-Up. The same vile concoction turns up in bars if I ask for ginger ale.
Why?? Is it really that unpopular? Is there a global shortage of ginger root? Or are the bartenders hiding the real stuff somewhere behind the counter?
Friends have no answers. Can anyone help?
I worked as a bartender for more than 10 years and every restaurant and bar I worked at - from trashy dives to 4-star fine dining - had real ginger ale. I have only worked on the East Coast; maybe that Coke/7-Up concoction is a regional thing?
Thank you, MissBunny. You took the words right outta my keyboard.
I haven’t ever been to a restaurant that didn’t serve “real” ginger ale. Especially the ones that have bars. It’s not particularly popular down here (meaning Alabama, not Hell…well, same cake, different icing)
but I know for a fact it IS served.
And vivalostwages, we gotta stop meeting like this. People will begin to talk. 
One of those college end-of-semester-empty-all-the-bottles party discovery:
7-up and brandy, mixed in rum & Coke proportions, looks, smells, and tastes practically undistinguishable from ginger ale.
Try it! Amaze your friends!
YMMV, I suppose.
Here in the Midwest I’ve never seen ginger ale served in bars- neither the ones I’ve visited or worked at… and I’ve been to plenty. And yes, I too was a bartender for a number of years at a variety of popular/unpopular bars in the Twin City area.
Never saw it in it’s regular form.
The few times anyone did ask for a ginger ale, we’d/I’d simply pour a glass of 7-up/sprite and splash it with coke/pepsi.
Never heard a peep from the people who drank it.
Perhaps it IS regional…I’m here in Southern California, on the eastern edge of L.A. County and have had the fruitless-quest-for-ginger-ale experience many times. Same thing happens when I visit San Diego and Las Vegas.
I too will vouch for the phenomenon - the bizarre coke and 7-up combo that masquerades for ginger ale - the waitron will serve it to you wearing a face as if he/she is hoping you won’t notice. I’ve lived on both coasts and in the Midwest. I’ve noticed it in California and Minnesota - don’t remember if it happened to me in the northeast. Sorry, I have no explanation but I’ve always wondered why. Great question.
Ginger ale and bourbon is good, too. 8^) Some prefer Southern Comfort, but I like it with green-label Jack.
Why don’t these places simply say that they don’t have ginger ale? As a person who drinks ginger ale a lot, I don’t think that Coke mixed with 7-up tastes anything like it. Are the establishments that serve this fake stuff under the mistaken impression that lemon-lime plus spicy/vanilla/cola nut tastes in the slightest like ginger? What do they do when someone orders Mr. Pibb or birch beer?
:Smiles:
Yep. That’s what I did.
missbunny-
The pop that’s served at bars and restaurants is so ersatz to begin with, I doubt anyone really notices the difference. And as every already knows, a true pop connoisseur, capable of blowing our cover, doesn’t hang out in a bar to begin with- their home.
:Smiles again:
missbunny: Do you mean to tell me that birch beer is actually available somewhere besides specialty shops?? White, dark, or both?
You can’t even find it in regular grocery stores around here (So. Cal.) and I LOVE the stuff. Thank God my folks are from Pennsylvania and the relatives back there are willing to ship it out here to us in boxes.
Sheesh…
Ah, Pennsylvania. At just about any grocery store we can get Birch beer, Sassafrass, Ginger beer, Red Cream Soda, and Faygo all the colors of the rainbow here. Do you have a “Roy Rogers” restaurant near you (I don’t know if they’re on the West Coast)? They always serve Birch Beer.
The “No Ginger Ale at Restaurants” phenomenon has always bugged me. There are few things better than ginger ale on tap.
There’s a bar near me that makes homemade Ginger ale. Soda water with the ginger ale syrup squirted in ahead of time. It’s DAMN good stuff.
Jman
Forget ginger ale! It’s Ginger Beer for me! Much stronger ginger flavor, and a bit sweeter, too. Stewart’s makes a good one, as does Olde Tyme. But I really prefer Reed’s extra ginger brew, it’s flavored with lime juice, and sweetened with honey.
vivalostwages: I meant that birch beer is an example of a soda that a restaurant probably wouldn’t have; i.e., they would tell the customer that they don’t have it instead of creating some fake concoction out of Scope and seltzer water, so why can’t they say the same thing for ginger ale?
Qadgop the Mercotan, I’m with you - ginger beer is 10 times better than ginger ale. If you like rum, try a Dark & Stormy - Gosling’s Black Seal with ginger beer. Delicious!
There’s two kinds, clear and golden ginger ale.
The clear is everywhere under the names Schweppes and Canada Dry. The golden is only available in places where there is a local bottler. Vernors is very popular in the states around Detroit, and is now made in L.A.
Well that answers one of my questions too. I’ve been wondering why bartenders look at me funny when I ask for a rye and ginger. I’ve even forced myself to ask for a Canadian Club and ginger ale, thinking maybe they didn’t know the bottle of CC behind them was rye (albeit an odd mix not found in Canada). I guess it’s the ginger ale that was the problem!
That also explains why the drinks I’ve gotten never tasted quite right. There’s no substitute for Rye’n’Dry!
I don’t know about serving Ginger Ale in restaurants, but I have found it in bars. Many restaurants only carry a limited selection of soda flavors and most carry only certain brands, like Coke or Pepsi because the sales reps make monetary deals with them. Like big discounts if they’ll carry only Coke or Pepsi. Frito-Lay used to give grocery stores major bonuses in order to get 1/2 or more of the limited snack display area, leaving little area for the other companies. Soda companies do the same.
As for bars, well, they’re just packed with all sorts of cost cutting ways, like charging $2.50 for a bottle of NA beer when regular beer costs $1.00. [Done because NA drinkers don’t get buzzed and then swill gallons more.] Some bars, in busy times, will leave the sugar out of Irish Coffee.
Now, if you want a taste treat, and have a vegetable juicer, then juice a small amount of real Ginger Root, pour the little bit into a glass and add Ginger Ale. You get a sizzling drink that will light your fire without booze! No, it will not give you a buzz, but it is spicy!
Maybe this is another regional thing, but I’ve noticed that every Chinese restaurant in the South serves Ginger Ale.