41 articles
Toast the marshmallows, melt them into syrup, and pour over sparkling water: a bonfire-season soda that costs 63 cents a glass against $4.50 at a cafe.
Grapefruit soda does not have to be bitter, bottled juice does not taste the same, and the zest does the heavy lifting. A myth-vs-fact build at 51 cents a glass.
Three witches brew builds for Halloween compared on cost and effort: sherbet cauldron at 34 cents a serving, a clear grape build at 28, and a single float.
Sour apple soda from fresh Granny Smith juice: a reduced concentrate at 89 cents a glass, brighter than canned, with the full recipe and cost table.
Homemade blueberry soda two ways: a fresh-berry batch at 74 cents a glass and a frozen-berry batch at 43 cents, with the full cost table and the syrup method.
Homemade lemon-lime soda from a zest syrup and fresh juice: 2 tablespoons of syrup, a tablespoon each of lemon and lime juice, sparkling water, 62 cents a glass.
Homemade vanilla cream soda at 42 cents a glass vs $1.25 canned and $1.75 bottled: a 1-cup syrup, 2 tablespoons per glass, with a head-to-head taste and cost table.
Homemade pineapple jalapeno soda from a 5-minute jalapeno syrup: 3 ounces of juice, half an ounce of syrup, sparkling water over ice, 78 cents a glass.
Homemade tamarind soda from a 2-minute simmered syrup: 3 tablespoons of syrup plus sparkling water over ice, 61 cents a glass against $1.25 bottled.
A Halloween party punch for 12 at 73 cents a drink: homemade ginger syrup, lime and pineapple, topped with sparkling water. Bottled mixes cost double.
An apple shrub soda tastes like orchard cider with a bright vinegar snap. My batch makes 8 drinks for $5.40, keeps 4 to 6 weeks in the fridge.
Butterfly pea soda starts deep blue and turns violet when lemon hits it. My Halloween batch makes 4 drinks for $3.40, with vanilla cold foam on top.
Hibiscus-ginger soda at home for 45 cents a glass. What the blood-pressure research actually says, what it does not, and the syrup I make every fall.
Make spiced plum soda at home for about 48 cents a glass. Simmered plum, cinnamon, and star anise syrup with honest cost math and storage tips.
Make blackberry-thyme soda at home for about 52 cents a glass. Full syrup recipe with late-season blackberries, honest cost math, and storage tips.
Make spiced fig soda at home with fresh October figs, cinnamon, and vanilla for about 53 cents a glass. Full syrup recipe, honest cost math, and storage tips.
Make orange clove soda at home with fresh zest, whole cloves, and cinnamon for about 31 cents a glass. Full syrup recipe, honest cost math, and storage tips.
Make real cola syrup at home with citrus zest, cinnamon, and vanilla for about 37 cents a glass. Full recipe, honest cost math, and storage tips.
Gingerbread soda at home: a molasses-ginger syrup with real baking spices, carbonated by the glass, at 38 cents a serving against $1.67 for canned ginger beer.
Old-fashioned root beer without the banned sassafras oil: my extract-based syrup, a wintergreen finish, and honest cost math at 56 cents a glass.
Ripe Fuyu persimmons simmer into a honeyed, cinnamon-kissed soda syrup in 15 minutes. My full recipe and cost math: 76 cents a glass at home.
Quince is the fall fruit most people walk past. Simmered with cinnamon and cardamom it makes a pink, fragrant soda syrup for 74 cents a glass. Full math.
Pomegranates are in and bottled craft soda costs $1.75. My pomegranate ginger soda is tart, spicy, ruby-red, and 68 cents a glass. Recipe and full cost math.
Blood oranges are back and the bottled sodas cost $1.75. My homemade blood orange soda, deep red and properly tart, costs 76 cents a glass. Full math inside.