Pop Rocks: Eight of Toronto’s best house-made sodas
Pop Rocks: Eight of Toronto’s best house-made sodas
Bartenders are making sober sipping fun with artisanal sodas that are as complex and tasty as any cocktail. Here, the best boozeless bubblies
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- The most cloying of all soft drinks gets an elegant upgrade: water, <strong>dried beet powder</strong> (for the fuchsia hue) and organic cane sugar infused with vanilla bean are piped through an old-school soda siphon for fizz. $3.<br /> <em>Woodlot, 293 Palmerston Ave., 647-342-6307. </em>
- Cream soda
- Cream soda
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- The <strong>peels</strong> from grapefruits, oranges, lemons, limes and minneolas (a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine) are steeped in syrup that’s added to soda, along with a bit of rosemary. The resulting drink is like haute Fresca with a subtle hint of pine. $4. <br /> <em>Ortolan, 1211 Bloor St. W., 647-348-4500. </em>
- Citrus-rosemary
- Citrus-rosemary
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- A naturally carbonated drink made from yeast, sugar, two kinds of <strong>ginger</strong> and a pinch of cayenne. It’s great on its own, or mixed with rum, lemon juice and Denison’s Wheat Beer for a spicy cocktail. $3. <br /> <em>Hoof Cocktail Bar, 923 Dundas St. W., 416-792-7511. </em>
- Ginger beer
- Ginger beer
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- In the Caribbean, sorrel soda is a Christmas tradition. Café Belong’s version replaces the tropical herb with <strong>hibiscus flowers</strong> for a tart soda that tastes like a cran-raspberry cocktail without the saccharine sweetness. $3.<br /> <em>Café Belong, 550 Bayview Ave., 416-901-8234. </em>
- Hibiscus
- Hibiscus
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- Root beer extract and <strong>Mexican vanilla</strong> are brewed in a kettle and piped through the bar taps, resulting in a spicy, almost creamy sip. $3.50. <br /> <em>Mill Street Brew Pub, 55 Mill St., Bldg. 63, 416-681-0338. </em>
- Draft root beer
- Draft root beer
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- Roasted cola nuts, cassia, bergamot and <strong>lavender</strong> are steeped, chilled and carbonated for a mix that’s more floral than classic Coke. Caramelized cane sugar syrup gives it a deep, brooding sweetness. $3. <br /> <em>Gilead Café, 4 Gilead Pl., 647-288-0680. </em>
- Cola
- Cola
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- Ripe <strong>mango</strong> purée creates a smoothie-like texture, while a squirt of lime juice and a little bit of zest cut through the sweetness and make the tropical fruit flavours pop. $3. <br /> <em>Cheesewerks, 56 Bathurst St., 416-243-3327. </em>
- Mango-lime
- Mango-lime
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- The True Blood–hued drink—made with <strong>blood orange</strong> juice, zest and leaves—has a tart punch, while milder notes of star anise, cinnamon and fennel whisper in the background. $3. <br /> <em>Hey Meatball, 719 College St., 416-546-1483. </em>
- Blood orange crush
- Blood orange crush
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Bartenders are making sober sipping fun with artisanal sodas that are as complex and tasty as any cocktail. Here, the best boozeless bubblies
By Eric Vellend | Photographs by Christopher Stevenson
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