This recipe makes a rich ginger syrup that you can keep on hand for making one glass of ginger ale at a time. To make ginger ale for a crowd, pour the strained ginger syrup into a pitcher, then add ½ to ¾ cup lime juice, to taste, and top with 4 ½ cups sparkling water, or more to taste.

Combine in a blender:

Blend until the ginger is completely pureed and there are no chunks left. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula to extract all the liquid. Or place the pureed ginger in the center of a thin kitchen towel, bring the ends together and twist tightly over the bowl, squeezing every last bit of juice from the ginger pulp. Ginger syrup can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Shake well before using.

For each serving, add 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons ginger syrup, to taste, to a glass filled with ice, then add:

Fill the glass with:

Stir well.