Name: Homemade Cranberry Soda
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice; 1 cup Honey Syrup; 4 to 5 cups club soda (about 1 liter)

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I used to be a soda pop junkie. A few years ago, I decided to give it up. I don’t really remember why. But, I think a handful of cavities had something to do with it. And maybe empty calories, too.

Regardless, I kicked my cola habit. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes like a sweet, fizzy drink. Instead of opening a can, though, I rely on other soft beverages like this Lime-Mint Cooler or the simple Pellegrino and Lime. Since making a bigger effort to change our family’s sugar intake, I’ve also started tinkering with homemade sodas, or sparklies as we call them around here.

No, I haven’t bought a fizzy machine. I just buy club soda at the store and add my own flavorings, usually fruit juice and Honey Syrup. The syrup keeps on hand for about a week or so, and I can vary the flavor with the kind of juice I have or with mint or ginger.

This weekend I had cranberry juice to use up. Plain, unsweetened cranberry juice. It’s a bit tart, I might say. I decided I didn’t really care for it plain, but what would it be like in a soda?

This Homemade Cranberry Soda still retains a bit of that tartness, but it gets mellowed with the addition of honey. Try different fruit juices if cranberry isn’t your bag.

You can definitely taste the honey. If you like honey, you’re good to go. If not, it might take some getting used to. The honey flavor is clearly present. Otherwise you can use standard Simple Syrup.