Cola III
Serves 5 Time 30 minutes Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 14 Steps 4
Cola is a type of soda that flavored with citrus and spices. The word "cola" derives from kola nuts, a plant originating in West Africa and originally used as a source of caffeine to make this soda. Most modern recipes do not contain kola nuts.
Ingredients
- ¾ tsp (3.75 ml) 150+ proof unflavored food-grade spirit OR a mixture of ½ tsp (2.5 ml) water with ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) food-grade gum arabic
- 1 drop petit grain (lemon leaf and twig oil)
- 2 drops coriander oil
- 2 drops nutmeg oil
- 4 drops cinnamon oil
- 5 drops orange oil
- 6 drops lemon oil
- ¼ tsp (0.75 ml) phosphoric acid
- ¾ tsp (3.75 ml) caramel color
- ¾ tsp (3.75 ml) strained lime juice
- 10 fl oz (300 ml) water
- 10 fl oz (300 ml) white sugar
- 25 mg caffeine (optional)
- Carbonated water as needed
Steps
- Combine spirits and oils in small cup. Mix well. Set aside.
- Combine phosphoric acid, caramel color, lime juice, water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil until thick syrup.
- Remove syrup from heat. Stir in caffeine and oil mixture. Cool.
- Combine 1 volume syrup with 5 volumes carbonated water.
Notes from the original
- Use a clean eye dropper to measure drops. Do not use a pipette, an eye dropper previously used for dispensing medication, or a spoon to measure drops.
- Use water from a carbonating machine or a brand of pure carbonated water such as Polar Original Sparkling Water, Great Value Seltzer Water, or Signature Select Seltzer Water. Do not use a brand of mineral water such as Perrier, San Pellegrino, or Mineragua because the added minerals will ruin the taste. Avoid flavored sparkling water such as La Croix or Spindrift because the preexisting fruit flavors will ruin the drink.
- You can substitute the caramel color with browning the sugar in a saucepan and immediately adding the other syrup ingredients immediately afterward.
- You can omit the caramel color and use brown sugar or piloncillo instead.
- You can make cherry cola by adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of cherry extract to the oil-spirits mixture.
- You can make vanilla cola by adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of vanilla extract to the oil-spirits mixture.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Cola III” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-09-08, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.