Dirty Strawberry Soda. Recipe

Hull and quarter the strawberries. In a small saucepan combine the strawberries, granulated sugar and water.

Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the strawberries break down and the sugar dissolves, about 6–8 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let cool slightly for 5 minutes.

Mash the mixture with the back of a spoon or a potato masher to release more juices, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing solids to extract syrup. Discard solids. Yield: about 3/4 cup syrup. Chill if not using immediately.

If using cold-brew, measure 1/4 cup chilled cold-brew coffee. If using freshly brewed espresso, pull a short shot (about 1–2 oz) and chill it quickly over ice then strain out the ice so it isn't diluted.

Taste the coffee. If it’s extremely bitter, stir in up to 1 teaspoon simple syrup to smooth the flavor.

Fill two tall glasses with crushed ice (about 1/2 cup ice per glass).

Divide the strawberry syrup between the two glasses — about 2–3 tablespoons per glass (total ~1/4 cup).

Pour 1 cup club soda into each glass over the syrup and ice. Stir gently to combine, lifting a bit of syrup upward to create a pink gradient.

Slowly float 2 tablespoons (per glass) of the chilled cold-brew or espresso over the soda by pouring over the back of a spoon or very gently down the side of the glass; this creates the "dirty" streaks through the pink soda.

If using vanilla ice cream for a richer float, add 1/4 cup scoop to each glass on top instead of or in addition to the coffee float.

Garnish each glass with a mint sprig and a lime wedge. Serve with a straw and a long spoon so the drink can be stirred to integrate the coffee before drinking.