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Soda Fountain Classics?

David Conwill

David Conwill

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A friend just told me she's perfecting her own at-home recipe for egg creams and it reminded me of all the interesting things on the menu at the local soda fountain when I was a kid. I want to try making my own egg cream and a cherry phosphate.

What other soda fountain drinks are out there? To me this has the appeal of mixology but is something I can share with my kids or drink when I don't care to have A Drink.
 
LizzieMaine

LizzieMaine

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Phosphates were very popular at fountains, using a soda water seasoned with a phosphoric acid compound -- the same acid that gives Coca-Cola its tang. A phosphate used this water mixed with fruit syrups, with lemon and cherry the most popular flavors.

You can get the proper "acid phosphate" for making these drinks here.

"Black Cows" were also popular -- same thing as a root beer float, only made with Coca-Cola and chocolate ice cream. Or if you really want to get serious, use Moxie instead of Coke.
 
David Conwill

David Conwill

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I finally had my first Moxie the other day. Good stuff! I love New England.

The Black Cow reminds me of a Boston Cooler--a Detroit beverage made with Vernor's Ginger Ale and Vanilla Ice Cream. Which in turn reminded me of my Great Aunt Harriet who was a soda jerk in Flint back in the '20s and '30s, who made Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Cokes.

Thanks!
 
LizzieMaine

LizzieMaine

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Another popular drink, at least around here, was something we called a "Suicide." It was a squirt of every flavor available at the fountain, mixed in a tall glass with soda water. The flavor was indescribable, and the name was self-explanatory.
 
emigran

emigran

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LizzieMaine said:
Phosphates were very popular at fountains, using a soda water seasoned with a phosphoric acid compound -- the same acid that gives Coca-Cola its tang. A phosphate used this water mixed with fruit syrups, with lemon and cherry the most popular flavors.

You can get the proper "acid phosphate" for making these drinks here.

"Black Cows" were also popular -- same thing as a root beer float, only made with Coca-Cola and chocolate ice cream. Or if you really want to get serious, use Moxie instead of Coke.
Click to expand...

No recollection of Black Cow from the Newark NJ area ... Only later, Steely Dan's song... "Drink your big Black Cow and get outta here"... and rare was there Moxie around...
 
LizzieMaine

LizzieMaine

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Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Moxie is the official State Beverage of Maine, and we're probably the only state in the Union where you can get it just about anywhere. The official Moxie Museum is about twenty minutes' drive from where I live, and they serve every possible fountain drink you can imagine == but with Moxie added. It's not an experience for the timid.
 
Inkstainedwretch

Inkstainedwretch

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The only time I ever saw Moxie for sale was in a gourmet grocery in Pasadena, CA called Jurgensen's. Jurg's sold all sorts of weird stuff, including canned kangaroo meat. This was in the 50s. I remember us kids being astonished that Moxie really existed. We'd thought it was a joke from MAD magazine.
 
Vera Godfrey

Vera Godfrey

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David Conwill said:
A friend just told me she's perfecting her own at-home recipe for egg creams and it reminded me of all the interesting things on the menu at the local soda fountain when I was a kid. I want to try making my own egg cream and a cherry phosphate.

What other soda fountain drinks are out there? To me this has the appeal of mixology but is something I can share with my kids or drink when I don't care to have A Drink.
Click to expand...
Egg Creams are easy peasy. I make them frequently. There was a pharmacy with a lunch counter where my dad grew up. When we'd go to visit my grandparents, we'd stop before heading home and get a lime ade. The soda jerk would squeeze the juice from a lime into an ice filled cup, toss in the lime, and then add simply syrup and soda water. Delicious!

LizzieMaine said:
Phosphates were very popular at fountains, using a soda water seasoned with a phosphoric acid compound -- the same acid that gives Coca-Cola its tang. A phosphate used this water mixed with fruit syrups, with lemon and cherry the most popular flavors.

You can get the proper "acid phosphate" for making these drinks here.

"Black Cows" were also popular -- same thing as a root beer float, only made with Coca-Cola and chocolate ice cream. Or if you really want to get serious, use Moxie instead of Coke.
Click to expand...
I love black cows! One of my favorites!

LizzieMaine said:
Another popular drink, at least around here, was something we called a "Suicide." It was a squirt of every flavor available at the fountain, mixed in a tall glass with soda water. The flavor was indescribable, and the name was self-explanatory.
Click to expand...
We used to do a similar thing when I was a kid, only we used the "pre mixed" soda. Usually at the 7-11, since it was about the only place you could get your own drink.
 
Fading Fast

Fading Fast

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16,873
Location
New York City
LizzieMaine said:
Another popular drink, at least around here, was something we called a "Suicide." It was a squirt of every flavor available at the fountain, mixed in a tall glass with soda water. The flavor was indescribable, and the name was self-explanatory.
Click to expand...

Growing up, the alcoholic version of that was called a Long Island Ice Tea. Nice sounding name, but if memory serves you basically mix 5 or 6 alcohols (rum, tequila, gin, vodka, triple sec, maybe one I forgot) and then sweet and sour mix and Coca-Cola. A nasty, hang-over-inducing mess of a drink.
 
Fading Fast

Fading Fast

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Vera Godfrey said:
...I love black cows! One of my favorites!...
Click to expand...

As did my dad (but soda and ice-cream were two of his favorite things, so no big risk putting them together and seeing if he liked the combo). The man also thought any piece of fruit pie automatically required a scoop or two of ice-cream; otherwise, the sun might not rise in the East the next day.
 
David Conwill

David Conwill

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2,854
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Bennington, VT 05201
Fading Fast said:
The man also thought any piece of fruit pie automatically required a scoop or two of ice-cream; otherwise, the sun might not rise in the East the next day.
Click to expand...

Your father and I have that in common--except pie consumed for breakfast, that would just be decadent.

And for the record, we have Moxie in the vending machine here at Hemmings.
 
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