Floating Club Soda/Seltzer

Greetings my new friends. Please entertain a question. I have noticed several recipes call for a "topping off" or "float" of club soda. Every time I do this, I end up with a mouthfull of club soda for my first few sips of my drink before I hit the good stuff. What gives? I simply do not understand and it is driving me crazy.

Any explanation is welcome.

Thanks,
Steve

I can't think offhand of any specific recipes calling for that, although iirc folks discussing the Tiki Ti indicate they apparently do that with their drinks. I would think it's done that way for presentation to add some visible fizz to the drink, and also to avoid blowing the lid off the shaker during the mixing process. If I were served a drink with a soda float, I would go ahead and stir it up w/straw before drinking to blend in the soda...

Thank You. I thoroughly appreciate you taking the time to attend to my question. Here is a recent winner from this very forum. His recipe demands a "topping of soda water". I think you are onto something with the cocktail shaker comment. That may very well be the reason. For stirred or built drinks, I say mix in the seltzer with all of the indgredients!

The Jab’s Knockout Punch
by TheJab

1 1/2 oz. gold rum (Barbados rum preferred)
1/4 oz. creme de noyaux
1/2 oz. passion fruit syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice
1 oz. soda water
Shake with plenty of cracked ice. Strain into double old-fashioned glass or small tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Top with 1 oz. soda water. Garnish with pineapple chunk, orange slice, and cherry.

[ Edited by: sjwieczorkow 2012-07-05 09:55 ]

Are you drinking the cocktail from the glass or sipping it through a straw? If you're sipping through a straw, you shouldn't be getting a gulp of soda water.

On 2012-07-05 12:46, arriano wrote:
Are you drinking the cocktail from the glass or sipping it through a straw? If you're sipping through a straw, you shouldn't be getting a gulp of soda water.

This has indeed crossed my mind. However, these recipes never specify such. I find it so odd that some of these concoctions are so specific, but somehow leave this glaring error out in the open.

Or...I am inept and unteachable.

it's a do-as-ye-prefer scenario.

dont worry, I had to ask here once upon how to handle floats of 151-proof dark rum.

some stir a float all together into the drink; some use a straw and lift out after each quaff in order to poke a little of the float into each sip; others just drain the drink by straw from the bottom and let the float mix into the final sips.

one can certainly sip the float up front if preferred (which i occasionally do with a rum float) but i suspect your preference not to do so is the most common re a float of water....

Thank you for all of the responses! I am quite excited to go searching through the archives around here.

Until next time,
Steve

I would always assume tropical drinks be drank with a straw.

Jeff(btd)

I never really heard of floating club soda. That could be just the refferal for topping off as mentioned then stirring it in. Thats how every drink I have made says to do it. But yes. Tropicals are always sipped with a straw unless noted otherwise.