Combine the 240ml of water, 90g of honey, and the thinly sliced fresh ginger in a small saucepan. The ginger must be thinly sliced — approximately 2–3mm — rather than roughly chopped or grated; thin slices maximise the surface area available for extraction during the simmer while allowing complete, easy removal during straining and avoiding the fine ginger fibres that result from grating blending into the finished syrup. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook for 8–10 minutes — the full cooking treatment applied to ginger in preparations throughout this collection where cooked ginger character is the specific goal. At 8–10 minutes of gentle simmering, a meaningful proportion of the raw gingerols (responsible for ginger's sharp, raw, biting heat) have converted to shogaols (responsible for ginger's warmer, more rounded, building heat) through the heat-catalysed dehydration reaction. The finished syrup contains both the remaining unconverted gingerol fraction and the newly formed shogaols — a more complex, warmer, more rounded ginger character than either raw ginger alone or exhaustively cooked ginger would produce. The ginger's aroma should be clearly present, specifically spicy, and specifically fresh-ginger rather than the flat dried-ginger character of over-cooked preparations. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon zest immediately and cover. Steep for 5–8 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing gently but firmly on the ginger slices to extract the maximum flavoured syrup. Allow to cool completely.

Segment 2–3 lemons, removing all seeds, membranes, and pith. Add to the large pitcher and mash gently. Add the 240ml of fresh lemon juice, 120ml of the cooled ginger-honey syrup, and the pinch of fine sea salt. Stir. Note the base construction: there is no still water in this preparation. The entire liquid volume is the lemon juice and the syrup — a deliberately concentrated base that will only reach the correct drinking dilution when the club soda is added at serving. This is specifically different from the Classic Sparkling Lemonade where a small amount of still water is included in the base; the ginger syrup's larger volume provides enough liquid for an even consistency in the pitcher while maintaining the higher concentration appropriate for dilution with the full volume of sparkling water. Taste the concentrated base: it should taste very sharp, very intensely gingery, and much more concentrated than a comfortable-to-drink lemonade — this is correct. The intensity at this stage is the tell that the base is properly calibrated for club soda dilution.

Refrigerate for 1–2 hours until completely cold. The base must be completely cold before the club soda is added — the same temperature management principle as the Classic Sparkling Lemonade. Cold base plus cold club soda maintains maximum carbonation from the moment of combination through the moment of serving.

Immediately before serving, remove the chilled base from the refrigerator. Pour the 900ml of ice-cold club soda gently down the side of the pitcher — the side pour dispersing the soda's kinetic energy against the pitcher wall rather than directly into the concentrated base, minimising the CO₂ release from impact. Stir once or twice only with a single slow movement. Taste: the ginger heat should arrive immediately and build slightly through the sip; the lemon's bright acidity should be clearly present; the carbonation should be lively and fully present. If the ginger heat is more aggressive than desired, a small additional amount of club soda (up to 100ml more) dilutes it while maintaining the carbonation. If additional sweetness is needed, a small amount of the remaining ginger syrup stirred in with a single pulse corrects the balance. Fill glasses with ice. Pour the sparkling ginger lemonade from close range — not from height, which releases carbonation during the fall. Garnish with a lemon slice and an optional thin fresh ginger slice for visual reference and the initial aromatic impression of fresh ginger at the rim. Serve immediately.