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). Â 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. Â 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!
—
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!
I am planning to get a SodaStream, and was looking for healthy alternatives to the syrups they offer, and like you I am looking to decrease sugar not sub it for a more “natural” sweetener (although I will likely use pure stevia leaves, which don’t have the after-bite with processed stevia). I was wondering if you have explored with coconut sugar at all? If so, I would love to hear your results. Thanks for the great post!
I haven’t really done much with coconut sugar… though for beverages, I’m guessing starting with a liquid (honey or maple syrup) will be easier since it will dissolve more readily. Just remember that, from a health perspective, it matters far, far less the type of sugar than the quantity of sugar.
https://eatingrules.com/introduction-to-sugar/
Color me delighted to stumble upon this posting on using Soda Stream for a healthy beverage. I purchased one over a year ago intending to use it to replace my soda habit with something healthy .. and soon discovered the chemical laden syrup ingredients, and put it away. They weren’t exactly an improvement! Can’t wait to dig it out and try your suggested recipes. Love the carbonation, not the sugar!
Just got a Soda Stream for Christmas and having fun with it. I’m like to experiment to avoid HFCS and sweeteners. Thanks for sharing your suggestions. Tonight I decided to try seltzer water with my kids’ Emergen-C Fruit Punch (2 packets in maybe one cup water in a TALL glass). It was great and hopefully, it will help build up my resistance. If you try it, allow for a LOT of initial foaminess.
My family drinks seltzer like crazy. They used to call me “the seltzer lady” because I was buying 20 bottles at a time. My husband looked into the soda stream, but instead got what he calls “open source seltzer”. We have a CO2 tank, with regulators and everything. He has carbonated everything, and is having a blast. One tank lasted us about 8 months. We have made: carbonated grape juice, apple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, re-carbonated soda (none with HFCS; we buy the Passover Coke and sometimes Sierra Mist which are both made from sugar), and I think that is it.
If your soda stream ever dies, you may want to consider that. We pay about 2 cents a liter and use filtered water.
Do you always put the flavor after the fizz of before
It voids the warranty if you carbonate anything other than water — so you need to take plain water, carbonate it, and then use the resulting seltzer to make the beverages.
I usually add the ingredients to the cup, and then add the seltzer water last — that helps mix it all together as it’s poured in.
Thanks, I can’t wait to try some of these. Since I watched the documentary “Sweet Misery” I’m cutting out all artificial sweeteners. Today I am researching some homemade ginger ale recipes to use with my SodaStream. I found out the hard way that if you add powdered ginger to your carbonated water you will have a big explosion on your hands. The good news is that you can make the ginger syrup without sugar.
Has anyone figured out to copy Dr Pepper without the caramel coloring? I would love that idea for sure, but I think I a going to try out some of the ideas here too
Thanks
This is late I know but i just got one (gotta love guilty boyfriends)…And two things I wanted to add. 1) For people who are still using the syrups and find themselves drinking the entire liter, there are 0.5L bottles available. Not great but still better.
2) I am a huge fan so far. one of my favorite things has been this article by gilt taste. http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/1151-kick-the-bottle-make-your-own-soda-flavors
Isn’t the SodaStream the best gift EVER? Good idea on the 1/2 Liter bottles.
I’m pretty sure that Gilt article (which is great) is available to everyone, so I removed the cut & paste part from your comment (I don’t want to be stealing their content) but I do encourage everyone to click through and check out those great ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas here! We just bought a Sodastream a few months ago and I am loving it, but I just don’t like plain carbonated water and my kids like the syrups a little too much. I find, by the way, that one ounce of syrup to 8 ounces of soda is WAY TOO MUCH for me. Yuck. I would be surprised if I used half that. I like just enough to give it a little flavor and sweetness. My favorite thing to do is to stir up about an ounce of honey and a similar amount of hot water until the honey is dissolved. Then I add the juice from half a lemon to it, stir, and add that to the bottle (we have the smaller 16 oz bottles, not the larger ones). Serve over ice. It’s like instant summer.
Nice! If you want to get really fancy, top it with a sprig of mint! 😉
Just found your site and THIS!!! Fabulous idea, I just rem. a vegan place I visit make their own ginger ale- muddle ginger, with maple syrup and pour carbonated water- Voila!
That sounds delicious! Definitely going to have to give that a try.
(Full disclosure: We have some horseradish root in the fridge — I almost grabbed that by accident, thinking it was ginger! Pretty sure horseradish soda isn’t quite the way to go…)