Coke Recipe

Make spice infusion

Combine 1 cup water, dried orange peel, sliced fresh ginger, coriander seeds, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer lightly for 10 minutes to extract flavors. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for 15 minutes.

Strain infusion

After steeping, strain the spice mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids and reserve the infused liquid.

Make simple syrup

In a clean saucepan, combine 2 cups granulated sugar with 1 cup water. Heat gently over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Combine syrup and infusion

Stir the reserved spice infusion into the simple syrup. Add caramel color, fresh lime juice, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, citric acid, and (if using) the white vinegar to the warm syrup. Stir thoroughly to combine. Taste carefully and adjust: add up to 1/2 tsp more citric acid for brightness or a little more caramel color for deeper color. Let the combined syrup cool to room temperature.

Chill syrup

Once cooled, transfer the syrup to a clean bottle or jar, seal, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight) to allow flavors to marry. The syrup will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

When ready to serve, gently stir or shake the syrup (it may separate slightly). In each glass, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of the cola syrup per 1 cup (240 ml) of cold carbonated water depending on desired sweetness/strength. For the ingredient quantities above, start with 3 tablespoons syrup to 1 cup soda water and adjust to taste.

Add ice cubes and a lime slice if desired. Serve immediately. Store any leftover refrigerated syrup for future servings; always mix with cold carbonated water and consume within 2 weeks.