Make Your Own Soft Drinks From Scratch

So … why would you make your own soft drink at home when you can just buy one already made?

“A fresh soda tastes so much better than a soda you buy from the store,” according to Tomas Curras. “Most sodas you buy have been on the shelves for at least three months. The acids inside start to break down the oils, which changes the flavor.”

Curras is the founder of Vintage American Cocktails, a Las Vegas-based website for at-home bartenders with an iPhone app and YouTube channel. He discovered there was interest in not only cocktails, but the art of making sodas from scratch.

🩺 It’s What the Doctor Ordered

Curras found a lot of his classic soft drink recipes in old pharmaceutical manuals, since soda fountains were traditionally inside pharmacies. Some were medicinal in nature. “Chocolate was a good choice, because it masked the bitterness of the opiates,” he points out. Vintage sarsaparilla, for example, used sassafras oil, a component of drugs like MDMA 🥴 Contemporary recipes use star anise instead.

🧐 Ingredients Are Everything

Curras’ recipes are essentially the same as what the big corporations use. “The only difference is mine are not made to sit on shelves for months,” he says. “There’s no preservatives or artificial coloring in mine.”

🍸 Yes, Alcohol is Involved

If you see “natural flavors” on a product, it usually means a natural oil is emulsified in alcohol. However, the amount in the final serving is so small, it’s negligible, much like using vanilla extract in a dessert. For his sodas, Curras only uses cold-pressed or steam-distilled oils without fillers.

⚖️ Everything in Balance

A soda recipe may seem simple, but like a good dish or cocktail, it’s best when complex and balanced. Acid is typically added to cut through the sweetness of the sugar and allow the other flavors to emerge. “A soda without acid tastes flat and not as good,” according to Curras. “But as soon as you add just a little bit of acid, whether it's citric acid or acid phosphate, it tastes so much better. It awakens your tongue.”

🪖 Cola Wars

The original Coca-Cola recipe was revealed on NPR during an episode of “This American Life.” The classic Pepsi recipe was listed in a bankruptcy filing. Is there really a difference between the two? “Their bases are almost identical,” Curras says. “Coke is a little more lemony and Pepsi is a little more cinnamony. The major difference is that, I believe, about 7 percent of Coke syrup is coca leaf extract.” The original recipe contained elements of cocaine, but that’s no longer the case. Still — “Coca leaf tastes like yerba mate mixed with green tea and bay leaf. It's got a very herbal, tea-like flavor to it.”