The Sodastream Bar
Apr 26, 2011, Updated Dec 22, 2016
Last weekend we had a few friends over to celebrate Matty’s birthday. In addition to the BBQ bonanza (tons of balsamic-marinated veggies, citrus-cilantro shrimp, and soy-sesame halibut…), I thought it would be fun to set up a “SodaStream bar.”
In case you don’t know of the SodaStream, it’s a killer countertop kitchen gadget that lets you carbonate your own water. One CO2 cylinder (refills for $15) will carbonate about 60 liters of water. (Read my full Sodastream Home Carbonator Review).
When we first got the SodaStream, we tried their flavor syrups — and enjoyed them. That is, until we realized that they all have artificial sweeteners (if they used only sugar, it would require too much syrup).
Instead, we’ve been experimenting with other home-grown flavors. I’m a fan of adding a dash of Fee Brothers Bitters (the original “Old Fashioned” variety), which have a refreshing cinnamon flavor (Note, nothing’s perfect: The bitters include food dyes). But take it one step further — say, a bit of Fee Brothers along with a dash of Almond Extract — and now we’re getting somewhere!
For the party we put together the SodaStream bar and encouraged folks to try some recipes — or to experiment and create their own. (I’ll be honest: Just about everyone added booze.)
Start with some sparkling water and ice cubes. Then try some of these recipes…
The Slow RC Cola Up Against A Wall
8 Drops of Almond Extract
Dash of Fee Brothers Bitters
The Lemon Limey
Lemon & Lime Wedges
Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters
The Cucumberist
Scoop of Cubed Cucumber
Chopped Mint Leaves
The Cucumberico Italiano
Scoop of Cubed Cucumber
Chopped Basil Leaves
Raspberilla
Scoop of Raspberry Pulp
6-8 drops Vanilla Extract
and, finally…
The RaspberPeach That Gave Andrew A Headache The Next day
Scoop of Raspberry Pulp
Chopped Mint Leaves
Almond Extract
Dash of Fee Brothers Bitters
Absolut Peach Vodka
Have your own favorite Sodastream recipe? Please share in the comments!
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This is a product I personally use and enjoy, and think you will too. If you click on the affiliate links in this post and then make a purchase from Sodastream, I’ll earn a small commission. Thanks for your support!
That sounds awesome! I know what’s going on my Christmas List!!
Have you tried to make your own flavored simple syrup?
2 cups water, brought to a simmer–throw in your favorite tea bags to flavor. Once fully steeped, add 2 cups of sugar until dissolved.
While the simple syrup recipe has a lot of sugar, I figure at least I know exactly whats in it (and a little bit goes a long way!)
Nice! I love the idea of using tea bags for extra flavor. (Hmm… Earl Grey, perhaps?)
Matty actually made a batch of simple syrup a few weeks ago for some vintage cocktails he was making. He used “raw” sugar (Turbinado, I think), instead of the regular white refined sugar, which made for a more richly-flavored syrup. It wasn’t “just sweet,” it had some good caramel overtones. Not a regular occurrence in our household, but definitely a nice treat!
I make passion tea concentrate from Tazo passion tea and add fizzy water from soda stream. Add some frozen concentrate lemonade to sweeten. Delicious!
Wow, sounds great! How do you make the tea concentrate?
ok, silly questions here:
I’d love to find more “organic/natural” drinks but I just don’t get the whole cucumber thing. Do you put the pieces in (if so how do you get the taste?)? do you puree it? What do you do with the raspberry pulp etc? I’m just not getting it. Any ideas for oranges?
Sure, you can definitely puree the cucumber or fruit. Another easy way to go is to use a muddler (or similar tool) to mash things up. That releases some of the flavors/juices. (If you don’t like things pulpy, I suppose you could mash them up and run through a fine-mesh strainer? Or maybe tie up the fruit in a little cheesecloth satchel?
As for oranges… Squeezing a little fresh orange juice into your fizzy water would be quite nice, wouldn’t it?
1.5 cups boiling water with 2 cups sugar dissolved in it.
Add the juice and zest of 5 oranges (or lemons) and 4 tsp of citric acid.
Dilute 5:1
Hey there Golden Pinecone winner and fellow Wildcat! It was great to meet you at Camp Blogaway last weekend. I have to say, I am obsessed with this blog entry. I need and crave bubbly beverages. I just saw the sodastream at Williams-Sonoma yesterday now I know that I MUST buy one. Love all your ideas and recommendations here!
Hey, Kristina! It was wonderful to meet you, too.
I’ve had the SodaStream for about a year now, and I’m still using it. In other words, for me it’s not one of those cool kitchen gadgets that you use for the first month, and then it just collects dust (ice cream maker ).
When you get your own, let us know what other fun recipes you come up with! 🙂
Oh, one other tip: They’re also available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond — and you can use the ubiquitous 20% off coupons for the CO2 cylinder refills! (That drops the price to $12 per 60 liters of seltzer… quite cost-effective!)
Love this & all of your creations….think we had one these when I was a kid.
Thanks, Marla! I’m such a fan of the sodastream, it’s almost silly.
It was great to meet you this weekend! Already looking forward to the next one…
GENIUS. I have a sodastream penguin and I will be trying some of these. Mmm cucumber-basil. That’d be nice with some Hendrick’s gin…
How did you know that we were adding Hendricks? Best kept in the freezer, by the way…
Well what ELSE would you add?? I mean!
I disagree with keeping spirits in the freezer. They don’t melt ice cubes enough in the shaker if you do that and then you end up with a too-strong beverage that lacks subtlety. OK, if you’re mixing with fizzy water this is not so important.
Who said anything about ice cubes? 😉
I love your drink ideas! Since October unprocessed I don’t drink diet coke anymore! I have been drinking carbonated or “fizzy” water. From a healthy point of view Is carbonated water ok?
I think so, and I certainly hope so! I’ll see what I can find…
I was just told by a coworker that Soda stream is introducing a naturals line in May… hmmm would love to try it or hear reviews!
http://www.sodastreamusa.com/Sparkling-Naturals-C51.aspx
Interesting… I just took a look at the labels of those. They may be “natural,” (which is a meaningless word) but they still have a lot of sugar! As prepared (with one ounce of syrup and eight ounces of seltzer), it’ll be 24g of sugar. The same size serving of Coke has 26g of sugar. (A 12-ounce can of coke has 39g).
Said another way: That’s eight teaspoons of sugar in one tiny 8-ounce serving. Sigh. (Sorry to be such a downer!)
Yeah…. I don’t drink real soda but at least it’s not HFCS?
I suppose… I’m becoming less and less convinced that the type of sugar really makes a difference. On my to-do list is some research on various sugar types, and sharing my conclusions in a post. Give me a week or two. 🙂
Having just said that — here’s why I still won’t eat HFCS:
http://www.eatingrules.com/2010/05/why-i-do-not-eat-hfcs/
What a great idea! I was interested in SodaStream until I saw that their syrups all use Splenda (I am mildly allergic to it, to some forms more than others). I didn’t realize you could flavor it yourself!
Hi Connie,
The trick is that you are only “allowed” to carbonate plain water (otherwise you void the warranty… and risk a foamy mess all over your counter). But once it’s carbonated? You can add anything you want! 🙂
Let us know what you flavors you come up with, eh?
– a.
Oooh I am loving your ideas! I also am not a fan of the artificially sweetened syrups. I like to make tea concentrates and use that instead. I will have to try your ideas now too. Thanks!
Tea concentrates? Tell me more, please!