Homemade Ginger Ale

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup roughly chopped fresh ginger and 2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup granulated sugar until completely dissolved. Continue to simmer the mixture for another 15 minutes until it reduces into a fragrant syrup.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof jar or bowl, pressing gently on the ginger solids to extract maximum flavor, then discard the solids.

Stir 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice into the cooled ginger syrup.

To serve, fill a glass with ice. Pour 1/4 cup of the ginger syrup into the glass and top with 1 cup of chilled club soda. Stir gently to combine and serve immediately.