Bottled Soft Drink Recipe

Prepare equipment: small saucepan, fine mesh strainer, heatproof bowl, measuring tools and a spoon.

Combine sugar and water in the saucepan. Stir briefly to combine.

Add the minced fresh ginger to the saucepan.

Heat the saucepan over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally so the sugar fully dissolves (about 4–6 minutes).

Once simmering, reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 2 minutes to extract ginger flavor.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the ginger steep in the hot syrup for 10–15 minutes to deepen the flavor.

After steeping, place the fine mesh strainer over a heatproof bowl or pitcher and strain the syrup to remove the minced ginger solids. Press gently on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

While the syrup is still warm, stir in the fresh lemon juice and the fine sea salt. If using, stir in the vanilla extract now.

Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. The batch will yield roughly 150–250 ml of syrup; measure out 60 ml for a single 16 oz drink (reserve the rest refrigerated for later uses).

Chill the clean 16 oz bottle and the carbonated water beforehand if possible. Cold liquids retain carbonation better.

Measure 60 ml of the chilled ginger-lemon syrup and pour it into the clean bottle. Use a measuring cup or graduated syringe for accuracy.

Slowly add the chilled carbonated water (413 ml) to the bottle. To preserve carbonation, pour gently down the inside wall of the bottle rather than splashing; leave about 1 inch (2–3 cm) headspace at the top.

Cap the bottle immediately and close tightly.

Gently invert the capped bottle 2–3 times or turn it end-over-end to mix the syrup with the carbonated water. Do not shake vigorously or you will lose carbonation.

Refrigerate the sealed bottle for at least 30 minutes to chill thoroughly and allow flavors to marry. For best results serve chilled.

To serve: open the bottle carefully to avoid overflow. Pour into a glass over ice if desired and garnish with the lemon slice.