Earth Day Special: Commit To Zero Waste Mixers With DIY Soda, Tonic & Syrup
Eliminating the waste you would produce by using tonic water or syrups brought from stores encased in disposable packaging is a good way to contribute your tiny bit towards protecting the ecology.
You can use homemade syrups, sodas and tonic water instead, to prepare cocktails containing mixers that you would diligently prepare in your kitchen and store in a cool place in your pantry only to bring them out when you have a hankering for cocktails.
These mixers will add an aromatic and zesty flourish to boozy preparations and a certain rustic charm that is inherent to homemade syrupy liquids.
Preparing such mixers can be turned into a fun DIY activity so you can gather your friends together and all of you can huddle in the kitchen over a pot of boiling water filled with different infusions that layer it with their aromas and depth.
You can use fruit scraps, peels, leftover herbs and other fresh ingredients that you would otherwise throw into the garbage can to prepare these mixers at home. This will extract maximum flavour from these fragrant fruits and herbs and make you feel a teensy bit proud of yourself too, for crafting mixers without generating waste.
Read on below for some simple notes on how to craft zero-waste syrups, tonics and homemade soda for your cocktails:
Homemade Soda
To prepare soda, all you need to do is infuse carbonated fizz into flavoured water before you seal the bottle and keep it to chill. Prepare homemade mixers by infusing water with lots of different flavours like lime, ginger, mint, cinnamon and other potent aromatics and herbs that will lend this drink a lot of depth. To add the carbonated, fizzy touch to this drink, you can either pump flavoured water with club soda or homemade tonic water and make it even bubblier by serving it chilled in a narrow glass.
The trick to preparing a good homemade fizzy soda is that you can employ seltzer water or tonic water as the base for building other aromatic ingredients like juices and syrups that lend the sparkling drink a flavourful complexity. Such a carbonated blend can be added to highball cocktails, mojitos and flip drinks for a pleasant fizz. Use equal proportions of water and sugar to first prepare simple syrup that can next be infused with two or more flavours to prepare this bubbly mixer.
Homemade Tonic Water
You would need a whole host of ingredients like lemons, oranges, sea salt, peppercorns, allspice berries and even ginger to prepare flavoured tonic water at home. These herbs and spices can be simmered in water over medium heat to let their flavours seep in before straining the mix.
You can store the tonic water in a jar or glass bottle and serve it with equal parts of soda the next time you are preparing a cocktail at home or want to savour the tonic water by itself over a bed of ice. The residue from the spices used to make the mixer can be employed as garnishes to further eliminate waste when you are preparing cocktails.
Homemade Syrups
The same method used to make tonic water can be employed to prepare homemade syrups too, except be a bit more generous with the fruits and spices used for infusions to give the thick, sweet drinks a stronger flavour. Homemade syrups can be made using a lot of seasonal ingredients so make sure you check which flowers and fruits like roses, lavender, oranges or mangoes are in bloom during summer or spring weather that can be utilised as the core ingredients for making the syrupy mixers. All you have to do is simmer equal parts water and sugar on a medium flame and use every inch of the fruit or herb you are flavouring the syrup with for a robust blend. Ensure that you use the stalks of herbs and fruit peels in abundance because that is where the real flavour lies.
