by Lindsey Romain
Socializing is one of the joys of the holiday party, but to one likes to leave the conversation to fetch another drink from the kitchen. So bring the conversation to the drinks by setting up a homemade soda bar. It livens up the party and gives guests an opportunity to create their own fresh-flavored drinks.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with more complex concoctions, but here are 3 recipes to get you started.
Dark Chocolate Egg Cream Syrup
Makes 3 servings
Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
½ cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Combine the sugar, cocoa powder and water in a small saucepan, and whisk together until smooth. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the milk and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature, then chill.
This syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
To mix with seltzer:
½ cup ice-cold chocolate egg cream syrup
¼ cup crushed ice
¾ cup seltzer, preferably from a siphon
Combine the syrup and crushed ice in a tall glass. Add the seltzer, aiming it toward the side of the glass to encourage a large white head of foam to rise to the top. Makes 1 serving.
Candy Cane Soda
Makes 1 gallon
2 1/8 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
8 drops red food coloring (optional)
cold carbonated water up to 1 gallon (2 2-liter bottles)
3 teaspoon peppermint extract or 3 peppermint tea bags or 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh peppermint leaves 1 cup water
Combine sugar, water and cream of tartar. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Let cool. Add food coloring and mint extract, ensure it is well blended. Add to carbonated water and mix gently until dissolved.
If using tea bags or peppermint leaves, steep in 2 cups of water separately for 30 minutes covered. Let cool. Strain out the leaves and add to the sugar solution in place of extract.
Gingerbread Soda
Makes 1 gallon
2 1/8 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 cup caramel malt, cracked
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cloves
cold carbonated water up to 1 gallon (2 2-liter bottles)
Combine sugar, water and cream of tartar, bring to a boil, simmer 20 minutes. Allow to cool. In a separate saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cups water to just before boiling. You will see small bubbles form at the base of the pan, but they shouldn’t rise to the top. Turn heat to low to maintain this temperature. Add in the caramel malt and all the spices. Steep for 30 minutes covered. Let cool. Strain out the grain and spice sediment and add to the sugar solution with the molasses. Add to carbonated water and mix gently until dissolved.
