Makes 4 cocktails
1 tablespoon toasted, super finely ground Szechwan peppercorns
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lemon with zest, minced
Water for 2 trays of ice
8 ounces (1 cup) Gosling's rum
24 ounces (3 cups) ginger ale (preferably Reed’s) or, alternatively, ginger
syrup (recipe below) with sparkling water
1 lime, cut into wedges
To make the numbing cubes, fill ice cube trays 3/4 full with water. Pour
that water into a large bowl with a spout (or a pitcher). Add the Szechwan
peppercorns, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Stir to dissolve sugar and pour
mixture into ice cube trays, taking care to evenly distribute the
flavorings; freeze overnight. To assemble each drink: pour in 6 ounces
ginger ale and 2 ounces of rum. Squeeze lime wedge over and drop wedge into
drink. Add a handful of numbing cubes and enjoy!
Ginger Syrup
Makes about 4 cups
4 cups sugar
2 cups fresh ginger, cut into 1/8-inch slices (about 2 large hands)
2 cups water
In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, ginger and water and
bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until syrupy and reduced by half,
about 40 to 45 minutes. Strain ginger pieces out and reserve syrup.
To make ginger ale: Add about 2 tablespoons syrup to glass, top with
sparkling water to taste, stir to combine.