by Wilbur, Todd
Although it was a major change to the recipe, removing cocaine from Coca-Cola didn’t alter the beverage enough to keep it from becoming the world’s number one fountain and bottled soft drink over the years. People enjoyed the drink for its refreshing taste. And, the drink did, after all, still contain enough caffeine to provide a sufficient spring to the step. The drink’s success spawned many clones from competitors with only slight variations on the formula’s top secret taste, but none, including Pepsi, would become as big a phenomenon as Coke. Many recipes were floating around at the time. It is well documented that John sold several copies of the original recipe along with shares in his company to help him through the morphine addiction and poverty that plagued his later years. John died at age 57 in 1888 from stomach cancer before knowing the enormous success of his creation.
Although the drink is 99 percent sugar water, that other 1 percent is the key to the drink’s unique taste.The tangy citrus flavors, from lime juice, citrus oils, and citric acid (today the citric acid has been replaced with phosphoric acid), was used by John to overcome the inherent unpleasant bitterness of cocaine and caffeine. Even after removing the coca from the drink, it was still necessary to conceal the ghastly flavor of kola nut caffeine from the taste buds with the sweet, tangy syrup.
To make an accurate clone of Coca-Cola at home I started with the medicinal ingredient, probably just as John did. But rather than harvesting kola nuts, we have the luxury of access to caffeine pills found in any grocery store or pharmacy. One such brand is Vivarin, but it is yellow in color with a thick coating and it tastes much too bitter. NoDoz, however, is white and less bitter, with a thinner coating. Each NoDoz tablet contains 200 milligrams of caffeine, and a 12-ounce serving of Coke has 46 milligrams in it. So if we use 8 NoDoz tablets that have been crushed to powder with a mortar and pestle (or in a bowl using the back of a spoon) we get 44 milligrams of caffeine in a 12-ounce serving, or 36 milligrams in each of the 10-ounce servings we make with this recipe.
Finding and adding the caffeine is the easy part. You’ll probably have more trouble obtaining Coke’s crucial flavoring ingredient: cassia oil. I was hoping to leave such a hard-to-get ingredient out of this recipe, but I found it impossible.The unique flavor of Coke absolutely requires the inclusion of this Vietnamese cinnamon oil (usually sold for aromatherapy), but only a very small amount.You’ll find the cassia oil in a health food store (I used the brand Oshadhi), along with the lemon oil and orange oil.The yield of this recipe had to be cranked up to 44 10-ounce servings since these oils are so strong—just one drop of each is all you’ll need. Find them in bottles that allow you to measure exactly one drop if you can. If the oils don’t come in such a bottle, buy eyedroppers at a drug store. Before you leave the health food store, don’t forget the citric acid.
This recipe, because of the old-fashioned technique of adding the syrup to soda water, creates a clone of Coke as it would taste coming out of a fountain machine.That Coke is usually not as fizzy as the bottled stuff. But if you add some ice to a glass of bottled Coke, and then some to this cloned version, the bubbles will settle down and you’ll discover how close the two are.
Because subtle difference in flavor can affect the finished product, be sure to measure your ingredients very carefully. Use the flat top edge of a butter knife to scrape away the excess sugar and citric acid from the top of the measuring cup and teaspoon, and don’t estimate on any of the liquid ingredients.
6 cups granulated sugar
2 cups (one 16-ounce bottle) light
corn syrup
8 NoDoz tablets, crushed to
powder
2 teaspoons citric acid
7 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 drop lemon oil
1 drop orange oil
1 drop cinnamon (cassia) oil
COLOR
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1½ teaspoons yellow food
coloring
½ teaspoon blue food coloring
18 drops green food coloring
44 cups cold soda water
1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, powdered NoDoz, and citric acid in a large pitcher or bowl. Add the boiling water, and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the solution is clear. Strain the syrup through a paper towel-lined strainer to remove the NoDoz sediment.
2. Add the lime juice, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, and cassia oil to the syrup and stir.
3. Add the colors to the syrup, then cover it and chill it for several hours until cold.
4. To make the soda, add ¼ cup of cold syrup to 1 cup of cold soda water. Stir gently, drop in some ice, and serve.
• MAKES 44 10-OUNCE SERVINGS.
ORANGE SLICE
To make your own version of the syrup for this orange soda that comes to us from the Pepsi-Cola Company, you need to combine a simple syrup recipe with two popular versions of dry orange drink mix: Kool-Aid orange unsweetened drink mix and Tang. But unlike the real thing that “contains no juice,” your homemade version includes a bit of real orange juice solids that come powdered into every scoop of Tang mix. After you make the syrup, be sure to let it cool in the refrigerator before you combine it with cold soda water to make a perfect finished product.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 0.15-ounce package Kool-Aid
orange unsweetened drink mix
1 tablespoon Tang orange drink
mix
1¼ cups boiling water
8 cups cold soda water
1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and drink mix powders in a medium pitcher or bowl. Add boiling water and stir until sugar has dissolved and syrup is clear. Cover and chill this syrup for several hours until cold.
2. To make the soda, addcup of cold syrup to 1 cup of cold soda water (1 to 3 ratio). Stir gently, drop in some ice, and serve.
• MAKES 8 13-OUNCE SERVINGS.
7UP
It was the perfect drink for a Great Depression. In 1929, the United States slipped into a giant economic slump, and a new lemon-lime soda with an attitude-adjusting additive was rolled out. The drink’s slogan, “Takes the Ouch Out of the Grouch,” referred to lithium, a powerful drug used to treat manic depression and prevent mood swings. Lithium was added to every serving of 7UP until the mid-1940s.
The soda wasn’t called 7UP at first. The drink, created by Charles Leiper Grigg, was originally called Bib-Labeled Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda, but that name, and even the abbreviated version, BLLLLS, was too long.
Today, no one can agree on the origin of the name 7UP. Some theorize that it came from the number of ingredients in the soda, while others say it came from the size of the 7-ounce bottles in which the drink was first sold.There are even theories that the name came from a popular card game at the time called 7UP, or from a cattle brand Charlie Grigg saw one day.
During the sugar rationing of World War II, 7UP was especially popular with bottlers since it used less sugar than other soft drinks. In 1967, the company introduced the famous “uncola” ads, with an image of the drink served in an upside-down bell-shaped cola glass. That campaign continued through the 70s with deep-throated actor Geoffrey Holder explaining the secret of the drink to be the “uncola nut.”
The slogan “follow the liter” was later developed to announce 7UP’s new packaging in 1-liter bottles. Soon afterward, every major soft drink label was selling their sodas in metric bottles.
In 1986, the Seven Up Company merged with the Dr Pepper Company, creating the world’s third-largest soft drink company behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Now you can make a home clone for this refreshing citrus beverage in no time at all. Just add lemon and lime juice to a syrup solution, along with a little Kool-Aid lemonade drink mix for that special tang (thanks to included citric acid), and you’re almost there. When the syrup has cooled, you just mix it into some cold soda water in a 1 to 4 ratio. And that’s it. You
’ve just made this clone of 7UP yours.
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon
granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
½ teaspoon Kool-Aid lemonade
unsweetened drink mix
1¼ cups very hot water
1 tablespoon bottled lime juice
2 teaspoons bottled lemon juice
11 cups cold soda water
1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and lemonade drink mix in a medium pitcher or bowl. Add hot water and stir until sugar has dissolved and syrup is clear.
2. Add lime juice and lemon juice and stir. Cover and chill for several hours until cold.
3. To make the soda, add ¼ cup of cold syrup to 1 cup of cold soda water (1 to 4 ratio). Stir gently, drop in some ice, and serve.
• MAKES 11 10-OUNCE SERVINGS.
SONIC DRIVE-IN CHERRY LIMEADE
Here’s the signature drink from the chain that’s reviving the drive-in burger joint, just like a scene out of American Graffiti or Happy Days.
It was in 1953 that Troy Smith obtained the parcel of land in Shawnee, Oklahoma, that was big enough to fit the new steakhouse and root beer stand that was his dream.Troy thought he’d make the steakhouse his primary operation, but as it turned out folks preferred the hot dogs and cold drinks over at the root beer stand. So Troy did the smart thing and ditched the steakhouse to focus all his efforts on the other joint. At first he called the root beer stand “Top Hat,” but when Troy found out later that name was already being used, he came up with “Sonic” to signify “service at the speed of sound.” Today the chain is the sixth-largest hamburger outlet in the country.
This recipe makes a simple, old-fashioned drink by combining Sprite with cherry juice and some lime wedges. Use cherry juice made by Libby under the brand name Juicy Juice for the best clone.
12 ounces cold Sprite (1 can)
3 lime wedges (⅛ of a lime each)
¼ cup cherry juice (Libby’s Juicy
Juice is best)
1. Fill a 16-ounce glassfull with ice.
2. Pour Sprite over the ice.
3. Add the juice of three lime wedges and drop them into the drink.
4. Add the cherry juice and serve with a straw.
• MAKES 1 16-OUNCE DRINK (MEDIUM SIZE).
SONIC DRIVE-IN STRAWBERRY LIMEADE
Troy Smith isn’t the one who came up with the idea to use an intercom system in the parking lot so that customers could pull up to order, and then eat while still in their cars. He was inspired by another hamburger stand he saw while driving through Louisiana, and had the same system designed for his place. Troy’s borrowed concept survived the generations thanks to a menu of food with wide appeal. Today Sonic is the only major fast food chain still incorporating the nearly 50-year-old service concept. And just as in the 50s, roller-skating carhops still bring the food right to the car window so diners can stay comfortably seated behind the wheel.
This is a flavor variation of Sonic’s signature Cherry Limeade. This version is just as good, even with the minor inconvenience of little chunks of strawberry clogging up the straw.
12 ounces cold Sprite (1 can)
3 lime wedges (⅛ of a lime each)
2 tablespoons frozen sweetened
sliced strawberries, thawed
1. Fill a 16-ounce glassfull with ice.
2. Pour Sprite over the ice.
3. Add the juice of three lime wedges.
4. Add two tablespoons of strawberries with the syrup. Serve with a straw.
• MAKES 1 16-OUNCE DRINK (MEDIUM SIZE).
SONIC DRIVE-IN OCEAN WATER
Any Sonic Drive-In regular knows the four or five unique fountain drink favorites on the menu. There’s the Limeade, the Diet Limeade, Strawberry Limeade, and, of course, the Cherry Limeade. But that bright blue stuff called Ocean Water has become a recent favorite for anyone who digs the taste of coconut—it’s like a pina colada soda. The server simply squirts a bit of blue coconut-flavored syrup into a cup of cold Sprite.The big secret to duplicating this one at home is re-creating that syrup, so that’s the first step. After that’s done, you make the drink as they do at the restaurant in less time than it takes to say, “Does my blue tongue clash with what I’m wearing?”
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon imitation coconut
extract
2 drops blue food coloring
2 12-ounce cans cold Sprite
ice
1. Combine the water and the sugar in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, and then stir to dissolve all of the sugar. Allow this syrup to cool.
2. Add coconut extract and food coloring to the cooled syrup. Stir well.
3. Combine the syrup with two 12-ounce cans of cold Sprite. Divide and pour over ice. Add straws and serve.
• MAKES 2 12-OUNCE SERVINGS.
SQUIRT
Soda and citrus flavors were combined in 1938 to create a grapefruit-lemon soft drink that would later inspire Coke to make Fresca. Fresca was popular when it was introduced in the 60s since it was artificially sweetened and contained no calories.That was back when diet drinks were just catching on. Nowadays just about every soda comes in a diet version, and Fresca sales have slipped, despite a tweaking of the formula in the early 90s.
Squirt continues to hold on to a loyal cult following, with many who claim the soda is the only true cure for a hangover. To clone it, just add real bottled white grapefruit juice, along with a little Kool-Aid mix for a lemony tang, to the simple syrup recipe. Chill the syrup and soda water until cold and get ready to make a dozen cups’ worth of citrus soda at home.
1½ cups granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon Kool-Aid lemonade
unsweetened drink mix
¼ cup boiling water
1 cup corn syrup
1½ cups white grapefruit juice
12 cups cold soda water
1. Combine sugar and Kool-Aid mix with the boiling water in a medium pitcher or bowl. Stir well. Add corn syrup and stir.
2. Add grapefruit juice and stir until sugar crystals are dissolved. Cover and chill for several hours until cold.
3. To make the soda, stir the syrup first, then add ¼ cup of cold syrup to 1 cup of cold soda water (1 to 4 ratio). Stir gently, drop in some ice, and serve.
• MAKES 12 10-OUNCE SERVINGS.
T.G.I. FRIDAY’S NOVEMBER SEA BREEZE FLING
Not only does the restaurant still serve some of the tastiest cocktails and mixed drinks, but Friday’s also has one of the best darn selections of custom non-alcoholic drinks in the business. The smoothies and shakes at Friday’s are all excellent, as are the designer sodas called “Flings.” These are hand-mixed soda beverages made in a fashion reminiscent of old-time soda fountains. Juices and sweeteners are mixed with cold soda water and served elegantly over ice—you can’t go wrong with one of these. The Fling cloned here uses cranberry juice, apple juice, simple syrup, and sweet & sour mix. If you’ve got the time, make the sweet & sour from scratch using the recipe at the back of the book.
1½ ounces cranberry juice
1½ ounces apple juice
1½ ounces sweet & sour mix
(bottled or use the recipe from
page 231)
½ ounce simple syrup (from page
226)
1½ ounces club soda
GARNISH
lime wedge
1. Fill a 14-ounce glass with ice.
2. Pour juices, sweet & sour mix, and simple syrup into a shaker and shake well.
3. Pour drink over the ice, add a lime wedge and the club soda on top, and serve with a straw.
• MAKES 1 DRINK.
T.G.I. FRIDAY’S STRAWBERRY SURPRISE FLING
This version of a Friday’s Fling is more tropical than the preceding recipe and doesn’t require simple syrup.When you’re ready to be flung, get some of the sweetened sliced strawberries out of the freezer and start thawing.
2 tablesp
oons frozen sweetened
sliced strawberries, thawed
1½ ounces pineapple juice
1½ ounces papaya juice
1½ ounces apple juice
1½ ounces club soda
GARNISH
1 fresh strawberry
1. Fill a 14-ounce glass with ice.
2. Pour strawberries, with syrup, and juices into a shaker and shake well.
3. Pour drink over the ice, and add a fresh strawberry to the rim of the glass. Splash the club soda over the top and serve with a straw.
• MAKES 1 DRINK.
SMOOTHIES
Frozen blended fruit drinks weren’t called “smoothies” back in the 20s when Orange Julius first made them popular. That name, and the many different ingredients used in the drinks today, didn’t catch on until the 1990s.
The trend toward smoothies as we know them these days may have started in health club shake bars where a wide variety of juices and fruits were mixed with ice, protein powders, and vitamins in a blender. Sometimes ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet was added to the mix to give the drink a smooth texture.