Make frizzy, fruity, refreshing drinks with these 5 delicious homemade soda syrups to enjoy the dog days of summer!
Homemade soda syrups
Growing up, I was one of those kids that couldn’t handle too much soda. And by too much, I mean one bottle. Fanta was my favorite, and just one small bottle made me hyper like a cat on catnip. I stopped drinking Coke on a dare in 1997 and went about a decade without drinking it again. As a result, my soda consumption has become very limited over the years and apart from a couple of sips on a hot day, I don’t drink it much at all (although I do love to cook with Coke).
Why I love these fruit soda syrups
It’s a totally different story with these homemade fruit soda syrups though! I love making my own fruit syrups. Lemon syrup, lychee syrup and rhubarb syrup are a few of my favorite individual fruit syrups to make every summer.
They are not loaded with artificial chemicals, dyes and sweeteners. And the best thing about a simple recipe like this is that, you can experiment all you want, with whatever combination of fruit flavors you like!
All you need are homemade fruit syrups and club soda and just like that, you’re spoiled for choice! PLUS, with a few labels (like I’ve done in the pictures above), you could turn these into wonderful gifts too.
These are easily some of my favorite summer recipes!
How to make soda syrups
Without further ado, here are the 5 different flavors/recipes that I put together! 5 easy and refreshing soda recipes!
Grapefruit and sage syrup – A beautiful citrus syrup with the sweet and sour notes of grapefruit and the fresh sourness of sage work together to make a really beautiful, smooth syrup – this is my favorite of all 5 I made! Peaches and thyme syrup – A sweet fruity syrup with the earthiness of thyme! A slightly thicker syrup because of the peach nectar. Perfect even as an ice cream topping! (trust me, we’ve tried it with vanilla ice cream and it’s fantastic!). You could also make a peach shrub syrup, which is a great way to use up bruised, overripe peaches. Strawberry and rose syrup – The sweet strawberry flavors and the floral sweetness of rose water make for a refreshing drink that’s beautifully bright in both color and flavor! Or make a strawberry shrub syrup with overripe strawberries. Pineapple and star anise syrup – Pineapple has such a unique, tropical flavor! It can be deliciously sweet and tart at the same time – something only a very few fruits can achieve. I wanted to pair this with Star Anise which in turn imparts a wonderful licorice fragrance and flavor, that you can make as subtle or as strong as you like (I preferred it a little subtle). You can also check out my grilled pineapple syrup with star anise made using a Korean method called “cheong”. Lime and lemongrass syrup – Lime syrup is nothing new and it’s something I LOVE having at home (along with lemon syrup) because it makes for a perfect addition to any kind of drink. I love adding it to Vodka, tequila or just mix it with some ice and water. I decided to enhance the sour, citrus flavor with lemongrass! It adds a delicious warmth to the syrup.
And like I said, these are super flexible recipes. You can add more sugar to make it more syrupy, more fruit to make it more concentrated. You can even leave out the spices/herbs for a more regular fruit syrup if you prefer, but where’s the fun in that? 🙂 And don’t limit yourself to obvious flavor combinations either. This is more of a guide. So try something new, you’d never know what flavor combo you will fall in love with next until you’ve tried it!
More fantastic homemade soda syrups you’ll love
Espresso Soda (to make a boozy iced coffee float) Hibiscus and strawberry syrup (to make a hibiscus strawberry margarita ice cream float) Vanilla blood orange syrup Vanilla strawberry shrub syrup Peach shrub syrup Lemon syrup Rhubarb syrup Lychee syrup Grilled pineapple syrup Spicy jalapeño simple syrup
So there you have it. A beautiful, homemade, naturally-flavored soda is just a fruit syrup and a club soda away. You can adjust the sweetness to your liking too. I like mine a little less sweet, so that the flavors of the fruits, spices and herbs come through well. And as you know if a soda is too sweet, you often end up being even more thirsty than before (because sugar in blood removes water from the cells, which the brain senses and then triggers thirst). And for an even more celebratory idea, simply mix the fruit syrups with some spirits, for a fantastic cocktail! E.g. mix grapefruit and sage syrup with tequila for a refreshing grapefruit and sage paloma! You can even mix ANY of these syrups with tequila and cointreau (or triple sec) and make yourself a deliciously fruity Margarita! Whether you choose to have a soda bar with these syrups or a cocktail bar for your next (girls’) night out (in), these homemade fruit soda syrups will be a resounding hit! In fact, you don’t even need a special reason to bust out the fruit syrups from your fridge. Sit back and let that summer warmth wash over you while that fizzy, refreshing, tropical soda cools you down from the inside. All is right with the world, after all. If you liked this homemade soda syrups recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes and updates by entering your email address below (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
