Post #591998 by arriano on Thu, Jun 2, 2011 9:35 PM

Thanks folks for the comments.

I didn’t have time to purchase citric acid or re-listen to the "This American Life" episode – damn job is getting in the way of my drinking. But I decided to plow ahead on the experiment anyway. In actuality, I’d been hoping not to need citric acid because I wanted to create a simple cola with ingredients one might have in a kitchen and home bar. Here goes:

EXPERIMENT #2:

• 2 2/3 oz Sugar Syrup
• 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice (key limes, by the way)
• 1/4 oz Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 drop Agwa Coca Leaf Liqueur
• 1 dash Fee Bros. Lemon Bitters
• 1 dash Fee Bros. Orange Bitters
• 1 drop Cinnamon Syrup
• 1/8 tsp Corriander
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg

I stirred the ingredients up in a pint glass, put the ingredients in the fridge, and let it chill for an hour. I stirred it again and added

• 10 oz Club Soda.

To compare it properly, I opened a bottle of Mexican Coke and poured into a pint glass. Compared to Coke, my concoction is more limey tasting and didn’t seem quite as spicy. I added:

• 1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
• 1/8 oz Allspice Liqueur

I realize Coke doesn’t have allspice in it, but this is an experiment. While better and closer to Coke, the Coke has more of a bite to it. At first I thought maybe this was because it was more carbonated. But the more I kept switching back and forth between the drinks, I decided it was something else. The only thing that I can think of is that it’s the citric acid in Coke that gives it that extra bite. So I guess I'll need to get it after all, and we’ll need another round, probably sometime this weekend. Stay tuned.