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Why It's Good:
With your own home bubble source, you'll never have to buy store-bought soda or seltzer again. Think of the money you'll save: You'll get sparkling water for pennies, and if you use their flavorings to make soda, it's a fraction of the cost of regular soda. These low-maintenance machines let you inject fizzy fun into cool summer beverages, splashy cocktails and creamy dessert drinks.
Why It's Green:
Just think of the billions of bottles and cans we'd save if we all stopped buying soda, seltzer, and sparkling water and made our own. Even recycling empties consumes energy. And let's face it: With the lack of public recycling bins, plenty of discards still make their way into landfills and streams. With a home machine, you can bottle up your favorite fizzy in reusable glass carafes or plastic bottles, and the provided mini-carbon tanks—which produce some 90-110 bottles, enough to last months—are refillable. The hermetic seal caps keeps the bubbles in longer, so fewer half-drunk bottles get dumped out. And keeping it local, in your very own kitchen, means no gas-guzzling trips to the store, and no cross-country trucking of heavy loads of fizzy water from manufacturer to Kwik-E Mart, either. Plus you can create your own healthy recipes and cut out the high fructose corn syrup found in most fizzy drinks. The eco-clincher? These machines use no electricity.
Are You a Bubblehead?
Maybe it was because soda ("pop," we Midwesterners call it) was a rare treat as a kid, but I just looooove the bubbles. Icy lemon-lime on a sizzling summer day by the lake, homemade root beer floats in my aunt's tumblers. Nowadays, there's always, always seltzer chilling in the fridge. But I cringe with guilt at the sight of the empties piling up in the bin. Recycling helps, but it still requires a great deal of energy and natural resources to create—or recreate—all those bottles and cans. What's more eco than recycling? Reusing. I decided to make my own favorite fizzies right at home. I tried two different types from the Soda-Club: the basic Edition 1, and the higher-priced Penguin. Once I set them up—which was a snap—I was in a state of high excitement. I began with the Penguin, pressing down on the lever, er, beak. The stately countertop creature shot CO2 into its fancy, sturdy water-filled glass carafe, emitting demure chirps with each motion. He whistled politely when done. The result? Sparkling water that rivals the best tableside bubblies. Next, the Edition 1. This machine was even easier to operate, and it stores your brew in reusable plastic bottles. Maybe it's because I made it myself, but soda (with a little of their root beer flavoring, I must confess—they say it has 2/3 fewer calories than store-bought!) never tasted better. The Soda-Club website contains tons of great recipes, but we were lucky enough to receive exclusives from Sprig's own wine and spirits consultant, Michael Green. See his recipes below, which can be made with any home soda machine, like these from Liss, iSi, and Mr. Fizz. Sure to delight friends and family, and you won't even mind being called a bubblehead.—Elizabeth McMullen
"The Sparkling Oasis"
This cocktail combines the enzyme- and amino acid-rich aloe vera plant with the classic summer flavors of tequila and lime. (Okay, so we're getting a little ahead of ourselves; can you blame us?) Use agave nectar as the sweetening agent, and there is no need to add processed sugars of any kind. This drink is summer in a glass: cool, crisp, and fresh. Here, we give you instructions for the soda version and the cocktail version.
The Soda Version:
Follow the instructions on your soda machine, using 5 parts aloe vera juice to 1 part agave nectar.
The Cocktail Version:
Juice of ½ a lime
5 mint leaves, torn and bruised
1 ½ oz. Tequila
Sparkling Oasis soda
Pour tequila, lime juice, and mint into a tumbler filled with ice. Shake vigorously until frothy, strain into a tall glass, and top with the Sparkling Oasis soda. Serve with a slice of lime.
"The Ginger-Aid"
Ginger has long been loved for its healing properties for everything from sore throats to headaches. It's also delicious, with a sharp, spicy flavor that cuts through sweetness and wakes up the senses. Try making this delicious ginger soda, for an everyday, easy drink, or make it as a sophisticated nonalcoholic beverage, or mocktail, at parties. You can always throw in an ounce of gin or vodka where noted.
The Soda Version:
Follow the instructions on your soda machine, using 1 part ginger simple syrup (see recipe below) to 5 parts filtered tap water.
Ginger simple syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup fresh ginger, chopped
Bring water to a boil, add in fresh ginger and reduce heat to low simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add in sugar, stir until dissolved, and let steep for 20 minutes.
The Mocktail Version:
½ tsp. grated ginger
½ tsp. candied ginger
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ oz filtered water
Ginger-Aid soda
Combine fresh ginger, candied ginger, and lemon juice in a tumbler and muddle until ginger is broken apart. Add water (or 1 oz. gin or vodka, if desired). Fill with ice and shake vigorously. Pour into highball glass over crushed ice, fill to top with Ginger-Aid soda, and stir. Garnish with a lemon slice skewered with a piece of candied ginger.—Recipes by Michael Green
