How to Make a Flavour Essence for Soda Syrup and Cocktails

Flavour & Beverage Development Course artofdr.ink/fl...
Patreon: / artofdrink
Some of the best sodas, think Pepsi, Coke and rootbeer, are made using the essential oils from fruits and spices as a flavouring. Using all-natural essential oil is a perfect way to capture the essence without the bitterness and astringency from extraction methods. However, oil and water do not mix and when most people try to make their own sodsa this way they end up with a cloudy syrup. Though that doesn't affect the taste, it can look less than appealing.
The method makes a clear flavour syrup made from essential oils and it is the same technique pharmacists used at soda fountains in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was a point of pride to make clear syrups. This method is simple, only requires a few ingredients and a bit of patience.
If you are unsure what essential oils are considered safe, please refer to the FDA's Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) database.
Here is a video on which oil are safe and where to find them:
Which Essential Oils are Safe to Use? • Know These Details to ...
Art of Drink www.artofdrink...
Fix the Pumps www.amazon.com...
#soda #science #flavour #drinks

[@vrtsgme]

Darcy, There are a lot of KZbinrs out there just publishing 'stuff', there are far fewer producing material that can have a material impact on those aspiring to do what you are teaching. These videos you have produced to date are so complete, then add your book "Fix the Pumps" and you have all the basis covered. Thank you for taking the time to produce such a professional platform. Please keep them coming! (I'm waiting for the lab equipment to land to get on with building my library of essences and tinctures!). THANK YOU!

[@Artofdrink]

Thanks Mark, I really appreciate comments like this. There are many more videos in the queue, but as you noticed they are a bit more complex and I’m still working on a process to make sure I have all the equipment, ingredients, etc to do the video properly. But there is some cool stuff coming up. Cheers

[@zZzabi]

@@Artofdrink thanks a lot for making these educational video, i have no science background and these instruction are easy to understand and follow through, even though english is not my first language.

[@vincentn872]

Mirroring the footage of you writing on the glass was a really clever way of filming this. I'd recommend setting up some time stamps, this has a ton of information. Awesome video!

[@joebine6644]

Darcy you rock man

[@jadenhair]

Love this! Just bought a vacuum filter and haven't taken it out of box yet. Can't wait to play!

[@damionandy]

Dude, this was so cool to watch. Would love to see you make some soda stream drinks with it (alcoholic and craft soda)

[@joewansbrough2291]

Your content amazes me! I came to your channel due to a reference and link from JF at Truffles on the Rocks and have been watching you vids for the last couple of days.

[@johannadht]

Now I want to buy a vacuum filter 😅 thank for that video, it was very instructive

[@tomj528]

Jeez, I just downloaded "Fix the Pumps", I'm 50 pages in and can't put it down! Fascinating history and I can't wait to get to the drink recipes. During the pandemic I came up with a few theme nights one of which is "Soda Fountain Dessert Nights" part of which are sodas made with real juices and fruit with lower sugars. We don't really drink store bought soda save for the occasional root beer/float in our frosty mugs so we don't need much seltzer. I solved this quandary by going with 6pks of Canada Dry 1/2 liter bottles and my wife and I split an entire bottle so nothing goes flat. I was looking to restock this holiday season as that's when it goes on sale but no one has it in stock and it's even completely disappeared from store websites so I may have to come up with a new plan. I always wanted to get my own soda fountain but it's just not reasonable on such a small scale unfortunately so I've been coming up with what works for us instead. Cheers and thanks for the excellent read!

[@Artofdrink]

Awesome, and glad you enjoyed the book. Lot's more videos coming and having a small soda fountain might be feasible once I get a few more videos out detailing how to do it. Cheers

[@tomj528]

@@Artofdrink I'll look forward to the soda fountain videos, sounds like fun. What I'm doing is putting my ice cream sauces in 12oz jars that I recycled from Smucker's all natural peanut butter and I recently got swing away 750ml bottles from my brother who bought them with imported French sparkling lemonade inside from Aldi for my soda syrups. We have a few vintage glassware pieces bought over the years from garage sales and at thrift shops, 4 tulip sundae glasses and 2 soda glasses. More recently I looked at banana split glassware but honestly I can no longer take a banana split down by myself so I'm doing them in small bowls with banana slices instead but that's still not a perfect solution and having the ice cream in a straight line is preferable to keep the toppings better separated. I always loved the soda fountain units with the chrome, sinks, freezer, pump dispensers and of course the seltzer arm dispenser but the thought of cleaning everything out on a regular basis doesn't thrill me so I think what I'm doing is what works best for our modest needs.

[@wild-radio7373]

This is fantastic!❤

[@alistergeorge9958]

Great video Darcey! It's giving me so many ideas. Keep up the great work, I can't wait for the next one

[@braintobody3139]

This a educational video not for kids ... Great information I have been looking for

[@ayschucks]

Really appreciate this video. I was turned on to it by a Punch article about a new or newly revived approach to making Donn's mix for the Zombie but I am also a soda stream person who hasn't found any syrups I like.

[@Artofdrink]

Well, you are in the right place. One of my goals is to take the best of cocktails and make beverage flavours with them, including the bite and burn.

[@johnhayes6414]

Please do a demo of several different flavors of one? Drink like rootbeer. And possibly a follow up with how to go about deconstruction of a Drink you may like to make similarly

[@urouroniwa]

Thanks for this! It really cleared up a lot of questions I had on the topic. Like a lot of technical topics, the typical sources of information on the internet (and other places) are predictably shallow :-) BTW, I wanted to thank you for your book as well. It was a great read and also very helpful. Anyway, I've only just discovered your KZbin videos and am eagerly working my way through them. I really appreciate all of the hard work you are putting into this!

[@Artofdrink]

Thank you, I'm glad the information was helpful (as well as the book). There is a lot more coming. Cheers!

[@cuitpoisson]

Typo on screen for the formula at 10:52. The essential oil is listed as 1 oz (15mL). Based on your other video, it seems like 15mL is correct and so it should be 0.5 oz.

[@mangalmayank7836]

Wow amazing info Thanks a lot ☺️

[@wojciechpopiel4363]

Great content, can't wait for more!

[@terrylcoltonphd]

Can you post a link with a list of the equipment used and where best to get the items.

[@maisound1444]

This video is great! I love your work and how you deliver information in such a straightforward way. I've always done sodas starting from a flavour syrup and never used essential oils before, I'm guessing this increases the shelf life a lot? What would the shelf life of a soda made this way be? Thank you so much for everything you do, love your book., love your website, love your work!

[@Artofdrink]

Glad you enjoy the videos. The shelf-life depends on multiple factors (sugar concentration, oxidation, contamination) but essential oils will provide a more stable flavour over much longer period (years) but the actually syrup would be less.

[@maisound1444]

@@Artofdrink thanks a lot for your reply. Any good resources I could check out on this subject? I have your book and enjoyed it very much. I’m now interested in soda shelf-life specifically because I would love to start a homemade soda (/bottled cocktails) where I work. Thanks again for all your work, cheers!

[@MartinDoudoroffLLC]

Superb tutorial. And impressive backwards writing!

[@JamesRyhl]

Loved the video! I was wondering if it is safe to use sports chalk for my magnesium carbonate. I've found some seemingly good brands that only list magnesium carbonate as an ingredient but not sure if it might be cut with something harmful. Thanks.

[@Artofdrink]

Yes you can. I use Hammer Grip climbing chalk, it has a high purity.

[@diegomontalban8681]

Gracias Amigo sin duda es interesante como existe un canal con un alto grado de conocimiento que comparten

[@Artofdrink]

De nada

[@arthurcandiota6414]

Great video, Darcy! I've been really enjoying your content Can I use extracts instead of essential oils and follow the same recipe? Provided that they're actual extracts, not diluted down essences. Thanks a lot!

[@curiousdaniel78]

I would also like to know the answer to this I have watched so many of his videos, and the more I feel like I'm learning the more I have questions.

[@DanielTorres-ub7el]

Thank you for this extremely helpful information. I have watched many of your videos and read through many comments but I can’t find any links for the equipment you use anywhere. I would love to get started on making a gin essence but I don’t know where to start. I need to buy dried botanicals only? I am a bit unclear about using oils vs. dried plant matter. And then I’m not sure about the parts of the percolator that I need to buy. In the gin video it looks like a metal base and stand with a vessel and a valve that has a filter at the bottom for infusing the navy strength gin but in the video it looks like there’s only juniper berries in there. Was that just for display purposes or is that all you use for gin essence? And - Is that an ambient temperature extraction? Sorry for all the questions, I am not a chemist but I am eager to make a zero proof (0.1%) gin and tonic that doesn’t suck and this seems like the most promising option. Thanks again.

[@evanhboucher]

Big fan of the whole thing. Had a notepad out to put down the math

[@Artofdrink]

One of the upcoming videos I'll be reviewing the math because we’ll be talking about using essential oils as flavours, and what level of dilution is best.

[@shrinklive]

Thank you! Very insightful video. Could we get a video explaining how to do this, minus the simple syrup, to make flavorings for seltzer/soda waters?

[@Artofdrink]

It is in the works.

[@exohumer3486]

Hi Darcy, I really appreciate your videos. I am still learning. Having been interested in chemistry in my junger days it brings back memories... Just one thing to better understand. 30ml 100% Essential Oil + 450ml 96% Alcohol makes an Essence. Would the same ratio with an Extract also make the same essence ?

[@timGawarecki]

You are amazing

[@tinqburrelle-uo7kz]

Great video 🎉 thank you 😊

[@manicmonkey]

Wondering how significantly these differ from a slushy flavour. I would really like to be able to construct a sugar free slush flavour syrup. I'm guessing that glycerin / alcohol would affect freezing properties but I have a feeling the topic is much more complicated? Can anyone perhaps share any insight?

[@lioleono1539]

does the final product considered as alcoholic drink ? because after calculating the final 0,33 soda drinke will have a 0,5 alcohol ?

[@GoggleHat]

Do you have any recommendations on what to look out for or where to purchase ESOs that are safe for making flavor essences?

[@chasamare4706]

Hi Darce, was wondering if I can use propaline glycol instead of the ethanol? It's a bit easier to find than a high proof alcohol where i am from

[@chasamare4706]

Hi Darcey ,just saw your glycerine video where you have answered my question .hehe he. Thanks for posting great content

[@GoggleHat]

Is agar agar powder something that can be utilized in clarifying extracts in place of magnesium carbonate? Sorry if that's an incredibly amateur question, this was a very informative video that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[@Artofdrink]

No agar will not work. Magnesium carbonate is used to decrease the droplet size to create an emulsion.

[@finsprings]

Do you have any recommendations for online places to acquire the essential oils for this?

[@droidgamemaniac4563]

@@Artofdrink Thank you for your videos! Great source of knowledge. Any idea why eg. New Directions Aromatics says "never use internally" on every 100% pure essential oil? Do you think it is for their safety or for some legal reasons in the UK? Thanks

[@Artofdrink]

@@droidgamemaniac4563 it’s because there was a trend where people were (and still are) taking full strength essential oils. There are videos on KZbin where they digest the essentials with little to no dilution. With soda, the dilution gets to a 10th of a drop or less which are at levels found naturally.

[@AlexanderKEmery]

I would like to see a video on bubblegum flavor

[@kevinfrancis2002]

Is there anyway to not use alcohol for this ?

[@carneycalcutt]

Would this work with unsweetened water rather than simple syrup?

[@Dominikmj]

Hi Darcy - it is a pity that I have just found now your channel! Fantastic resource. I think - you serve more a niche here though. I think it is really interesting - but it seems to me, that creating sodas like that is a bit too “processed”. I like to rather have it hazier and create sodas from “fresh produce”. I think in my case, the ethanol part is still challenging. Because here in Dubai, it is not about the health aspect of alcohol, but about the religious side (which cannot be just countered with pragmatism)... Anyway - I find it super interesting and it is really cool to see you here!

[@Artofdrink]

Thanks. I'm working on some non-ethanol alternatives, but some of them won't be widely available but glycerin is pretty common and I'll get some example posted at some point.

[@mike53233]

You could clarify some fresh fruit juice with agar, add sugar to make a syrup and add that to water to carbonate. It won’t have a good shelf life but I think you could make some home made sodas that way.

[@Essam635]

Are there any solvents other than ethanol?

[@texanalphalegionare]

i wish there was a class for this my adhd brain is fighting me 80% of the way going through this.

[@crcarlsonUT]

Thank you for sharing all of this great content. I have your book and have acid phosphate and lactic acid on order. I have seen some recipes for sodas which include gum arabic with the explanation that it helps with emulsifying the oils into the solution. Do you have any situations where you would tend to recommend it? Thank you.

[@Artofdrink]

Gum arabic is a decent emulsifier so you will see it used in the Open Cola project, though there are better emulsifiers for soda, I'll be doing videos on that in the future. It also can add "body" to soda but it does cause foaming, though not a stable foam, so it deflates the drink. So, it has been used for a long time, but I think there are better options available for making soda, though if that is all you have, use it. And I'm glad you enjoy the content. Cheers!

[@crcarlsonUT]

@@Artofdrink Thank you, that is helpful. I am looking forward to the future content.

[@gamedestiny2520]

This video has been very helpful. If you see this, I’d like to ask about skipping the magnesium carbonate step. Do I just mix the alcohol and the oil in that step and move on to adding it to the simple syrup? Or do I need to still filter that? Really appreciate your videos by the way, it’s very difficult to find information on how to make soda.

[@Artofdrink]

The magnesium carbonate is the emulsification step and is the key to a good flavour. I wouldn't recommend skipping it, but you can but the flavour will be mild.

[@JurrBTful]

what can I se instead of alcohol?

[@wilhelmschubert8048]

Great video! If you want to make a sugar free drink, could you mix the essence with sparkling water and artificial sweetener and citric acid or how would you do it? thank you.

[@Artofdrink]

You can do that, artificial sweeteners are a bit harder to work with as sugar helps keep the flavours from separating. I'm working on a video for that.

[@ChessKombat]

Hello Dave! I have been going through your book Fix the Pumps and cant put it down. My wife had a lemon, lavendar, grapefruit, and orange essential oils. I kept your ratios that you have in the book and diluted to the 80% from 95% with the everclear. I dont mind the cloudyness at this point, I just want to experiment on the flavors then I can get to the calrifications later. I am curious how we could try and create our own flavors for just making sparkling waters without the sugar syrups. Or what ratios would you use for these amounts? Also, I do not think I see a recipe for wild cherry extrct. Would this be 100g cherry bark to 100g alcohol?

[@Artofdrink]

Typically you would use 1 oz (30 ml) of essence for a quart (1 litre) up to a gallon (3.8 L) of syrup and each quart would make 32 drinks, so a good starting point is 1 ml of the prepared alcoholic essence per drink. If that is too strong, you can reduce the amount to 1/2 or 1/4 of a ml, possibly less. Put the essence in the glass before you add the soda. For Wild Cherry Extract here is a post I about it on my website: www.artofdrink.com/soda/cherry-phosphate

[@ChrisMichael]

For people who can't have alcohol, what's a good substitution for ethanol? (glycerine, maybe?)

[@Artofdrink]

Check out this video I did on the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp6yc4uiraeCqK8

[@ME-qq3gr]

Anyone got a good Root beer recipe? I live in a place it is very hard and expensive to get a root beer kit and trying to get Sassafras oil will have people think I am trying to make MDMA.

[@erwinplayz3922]

Hello thanks for all the information but I'm stuck at the essentials oils in my country but could get my hand on LorAnn OILS - would they work to make the essence?

[@Artofdrink]

Make sure the LorAnn oils are for beverages, most of their products are for baking and won't work.

[@dantedelorentis4932]

Amazing a video where do you recommend us to buy drink quality essential oils?

[@texanalphalegionare]

Can you give a list of tools we need to make soda?

[@Artofdrink]

A full list of equipment and suppliers is over on Patreon: www.patreon.com/artofdrink

[@samfrigard]

Do you have a recommendation for sourcing essential oils? I'm having a hard time finding bitter orange in particular. The ones I see on Amazon all seem to be for external use only. I'm very inspired by your videos, thanks!

[@Artofdrink]

My next video deals with all of this, should be out this weekend.

[@samfrigard]

@@Artofdrink looking forward to it, thank you!

[@sonnyehret9804]

To make Sasparilla what do I need to make 1gallon?

[@Artofdrink]

If you want to make straight sarsaparilla, you'll need to make an extract because sarsaparilla doesn't have much oil. If you want to make the root beer of a similar name, I'll be doing a video in the future.

[@ShanBeaste]

Does this recipe also work for coffee? Lattes and Milk Teas?

[@Artofdrink]

Yes it does. They are pretty much the same, though I've found coffee syrups to be a touch sweeter, so use 2:1 simple syrup instead of the 3:2 I recommend for sodas.

[@MrHighRaw]

I'm in the UK and it's almost impossible to get really good grapefruit soda (for a Paloma) without spending a fortune. Have you made grapefruit soda with this and do you recommend it?

[@mdbbox5660]

Glen and Friends did a grapefruit soda recipe. It was supposed to be a replica of Ting. I've never had Ting, but it was excellent and worth a try.

[@saveursvivaces]

Hi, thank you for your content, very interesting ! Is there a way to make the final drink aromatic with the essence (or flavour extract) but sugar free ?

[@Artofdrink]

There are methods, but they require full videos to explain the technique and chemistry. I have a few of these videos in the queue.

[@saveursvivaces]

@@Artofdrink Great ! I can't wait to see that, thanks your for your answer :)

[@kristofjacobs2349]

I looked up essential oils to buy and always they mention it's not used for consumption but for massage oil or to use in a bath. Some even mention it's deadly if it gets into your airways. I can understand that EO is very concentrated and can't be used if it isn't diluted or should I really look for food-grade essential oils? What is your opinion on this?

[@madanlal1541]

Great sir 👍 👌 🙏

[@garberi91]

Excellent video, the only bad part is de imperial system. I am wanting to try new recipes of soda and this video is so helpful. Any suggestions in how to do sugar free syrups?

[@Artofdrink]

Thanks. Most old recipes were in imperial units, and I do metric conversions in some, but sometimes that just leads to more confusion. As for sugar free syrups, look into allulose as a sweetener, it's almost the same as sugar.

[@garberi91]

@@Artofdrink thank you very much for the tip. I will try it.

[@tee_nanners]

Hey Darcy! I really like your videos, I'm trying to get started on making my own soda to give to friends for Christmas. Have you ever tried creating a soda for purchase? Like manufacturing your own brand?

[@Artofdrink]

Not yet. If you develop your own flavour there are bottling companies that will produce it for you. Or you can get something like the Cannular Bench Top Can Seamer that you can your own products. You just buy the empty aluminum cans, put your soda in it and the Cannular will seal it. Slap a label and a bow on it and you have your Christmas present.

[@tee_nanners]

I actually bottle it like beer! I was just curious if you had a brand I could support. I think you'd come up with really unique flavors that have more "oomph" than the typical soda

[@joebine6644]

​@@Artofdrink😂😂😂🫡💯

[@goladalimca]

Can we add ready-made flavor essence in hot sugary water? Does it effect the work of essence?

[@lunaparnell1995]

Would using the flavor extracts you taught us how to make change the ratios

[@JohnDoe12345.]

How do I get ethanol without being put on a list or dying. Also how do I make it non alcoholic

[@renedouma2535]

Hi Darcy, love your videos. I'm a professional brewer and have been experimenting using hops in soft drinks (had great success making hop ice tea). Watching your videos i'm keen on trying some of your techniques. Two questions : - When you make an extract with alcool, there is no way extracting one attribute or the other, like hops that are aromatic and bitter. Is there a way to extract for example the aroma and not the bitterness ? - I'm looking to buy a percolator (like you use in other videos), but i can only find google results related to smoking... Would you have a link where i could find it ? Preferably in Europe. Thanks a lot for your dedicated work !

[@Artofdrink]

Hello Rene, Thank you, glad you enjoy the videos. When you extract hops will alcohol, they are less bitter, but if you boil them in a recipe they will become bitter. And there isn't a way to separate out the bitter compounds using extraction, but as mentioned they are less bitter when extracted this way. For equipment, watch this video on how to make an extract kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6fOk3ahnJ6VhtU and Eisco Science is the company that makes the percolators, they have European offices. Cheers

[@renedouma2535]

@@Artofdrink Thanks a lot for your response, i just discovered your video on Hop Water, missed that one! I'll try it when i get the equipment. Might try to distill some hops to get just the aromatics out... Keep on what you're doing, you have an awesome channel !

[@urbster1]

great video! if you had to guess (assuming you don't know for sure), is this essence the same general recipe that is used in the most popular canned flavored seltzer water brand?

[@Artofdrink]

My guess is that most RTDs use "flavourings" instead of essential oils. The only difference is with flavourings is they remove all the terpenes and other non-soluble flavour compounds, and keep a narrow flavour profile. They can still be all natural, but contain a limited range of flavour compounds. Without the sugar, or other emulsifiers, it would be really hard to keep the oil emulsified. But the usage rate would be low, most are used in the 50 to 500 ppm rate (50 mg to 500 mg per litre).

[@stelarzombie4419]

Hi thanks for the video I was wondering if it is possible to not use alcohol or does to alcohol evaporate ? Do you now ho much percent alcool one bottle contain after all the process

[@Artofdrink]

For most flavour essences alcohol is necessary because oils do not dissolve in water and most other solvents that do dissolve oils are not safe for human consumption in the amounts required. Ethanol is quite safe in the amounts used here and the resulting soda will have only an undetectable amount of alcohol.

[@joebine6644]

Your freakin cool and I love your videos, flavaz for life🤜💯

[@dantheman543]

Darcy, I love the content. Bought your book and your acids. I started making small scale herbal extracts 25g/50ml vodka using percolation method. The amount of liquid the came out of my dropping funnel was only 35ml. Should I run more vodka through to make 50ml (1:2 ratio)? How should I calculate/estimate the ppm of the extract solution (would you say only 10% of the organic material makes it into solution)? Can you use herbal extracts/tinctures in the same manner as EO essences when making syrups? Thanks.

[@Artofdrink]

Hello, glad you love the content. You can add more vodka, or you can add water it and just collect the last 15 mL. The water will push the vodka extract through. You won't be able to calculate the ppm, but if you look at the FEMA GRAS document you will see there is a specific listing for extracts and these extracts done this way tend to extract 90% plus of the usable flavour of the herb/spice. It was designed this way by pharmacists so that doses would be consistent and accurate. And yes you can use them in any drink similar to EO essences.

[@dantheman543]

Thanks for the reply. So, is a 1:1 herbal extract equivalent to a 1:15 EO essence? Or, do you dilute the extract to make it weaker before you mix it with syrup? Wondering if making extract from orange peel and adding it to syrup is the same as orange essence added to syrup… or, do you get completely different compounds/flavors, maybe more bitter with the peel? Is there an old pharmacy book you would recommend that goes into more depth on this? Cheers!

[@VasilisMichRavenclaw]

Great video. I'm interested in making soda water with Greek mastiha, however mastiha essential oil is very expensive and mastiha itself dissolves in alcohol. Could I just dissolve mastiha resin in 15oz of alcohol and go from there?

[@Artofdrink]

Yes you could do that and if you find when you add the extract to simple syrup and it crystalizes out, try adding some purified gum arabic to your simple syrup as a stabilizer. And I do love the flavour a Mastika, it is one of my favourite liqueurs.

[@brendanhaney6878]

Hi Darcy, I was wondering how the ABV of the alcohol used will effect the end product? Is there a significant difference between using 80/100 proof vodka opposed to Everclear? Is one preferred over another? I am planning on using this at at a bar for craft sodas and N/A drinks of that matters. Thanks for your knowledge!

[@Artofdrink]

Hello, yes there are differences. Typically pharmacists making extracts in the late 1800s aimed for 50 to 60% abv. The key benefit is that these produce clear extracts, whereas 40% abv can be a bit cloudy, but it depends what you are extracting. Rarely did they use full proof spirit (95%) as it over extracts insoluble oils and when you add it to anything with water it will louche and makes for a cloudy drink. Now there is nothing wrong with a cloudy drink, they taste fine, but society for some reason see bright and clear drinks as better, but I'm okay with either or. And good luck with the soda and NA drinks, I think you are getting in at the perfect time. Cheers

[@Essam635]

Is the alcohol 99%? Good to work with as a solvent

[@Artofdrink]

Too high, use alcohol between 60% and 70%.

[@haronodukachagan7812]

Where does alcohol added go

[@mawkuri5496]

please make a flavor essence for ejuice.. black currant flavor

[@GmanLuvFilms]

How would you recommend creating a cherry flavor? Cherry essential oils seem hard to find, but I can find cherry powder to make an extract with. Would I be better off macerating Cherries in alcohol?

[@Artofdrink]

The cherry flavour was typically made using wild cherry bark and cherry juice and it is difficult to get that fresh cherry flavour. Wild Cheery Phosphates were popular but used cherry bark from the black cherry tree (hence the wild part). It also has an almond flavour. I'll do a video on it in the future but I wrote an article on Art of Drink about the Wild Cherry Phosphate: www.artofdrink.com/soda/cherry-phosphate

[@GmanLuvFilms]

Is there a benefit of using steam distilled essential oils vs cold pressed or vice versa? Can they be used interchangeably?

[@Artofdrink]

They can be used interchangeably and either will work fine.

[@royalecrafts6252]

Can I flavour my mead with essential oils or essences?

[@Artofdrink]

Yes you can

[@milesthompson6145]

Is the emulsion stable for long? What's the point of using gum arabic in soda formulation if this works just fine?

[@Artofdrink]

Gum Arabic was used for foam production but many people think it helps emulsify oil and water, it helps but there are better methods.

[@sticktea3377]

EO n ethanol here in my country so expensive

[@micahbishop4033]

To add more fun.. can we distill our own essential oils? I see the sell some home machine but didn't know if was the way to go

[@Artofdrink]

You can, it's probably more expensive, but if that's what you want go for it.

[@theblackreeper4009]

Hey darcy if i were to make a non alcoholic drink what would i use instead of ethanol or vodka etc

[@Artofdrink]

Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp6yc4uiraeCqK8

[@dianapennepacker6854]

I really want to make my own soda. Like how do you even start to create a NEW flavor that doesn't mimic something in real life. Doctor Pepper and Cola is an example ‐ nothing tastes like them but 90% of sodas are variations of that or fruit. I really want to make a ginger something. Feel like a lot of Gingerale get the first bit part right but miss on the middle and end. I keep looking for something that is refreshing and crisp at the end sort of like a sprite or mountian dew without the citrus or fruity flavor. Sodas with a good finish seem to be super sweet in the beginning. Then to realize how prepping, boiling, extracting etc can effect the taste! Its like how do you even start! Gotta start trying different herbs and spices.

[@Artofdrink]

The first step is to train your brain on all the flavours. Herb and spices are good start but getting some isolated flavour compounds like vanillin or limonene helps too.

[@BluishGnome]

Hi, if I’m clarifying homemade aperitivo (already diluted to ~21%ABV,) should I still use magnesium carbonate when vacuum filtering? If so, how much should I add to 1L of product?

[@Artofdrink]

You probably don't need magnesium carbonate, but it could help. Typically you would use a fining agent to clarify like they do with wine and beer.

[@Artofdrink]

The problem with magnesium carbonate is that it will neutralize the acid in your aperitivo

[@BluishGnome]

I somehow missed your replies three months ago. I’ve since used magnesium carbonate a few of times to clear up what I think is oil haze, to which it had great effect. But it definitely affected the overall flavor as well, producing a muted liqueur. I most recently cleared up a green Chartreuse clone with it and the end product had an unpleasant saltiness to it. (Which is why I came back to this video to rewatch it.) You mentioned other fining agents used in wine/beer. I’ve tried bentonite and egg whites. Both took much longer to clarify than I’d like. And I lost a non-negligible amount of liqueur when decanting. Any thoughts on a more effective way to clear oil-based haze for a home enthusiast making a liter at a time? Should I run the bentonite or egg white laden liquid through the Buchner funnel?

[@MattCha90]

Would this filter process work with powdered herbs for extract making? I got powderd roots by mistake and the funnel method just made mud 🤦

[@Artofdrink]

It will work and if your extract turned to mud, pack it tighter, make sure the material is ground fine and sometimes you need to let the extract seep out overnight.

[@namerahlimgas8203]

first time to watch your video sir, im from philippines i have a question about your mixture do you have other option to change without alcohol,im a Muslim sir...thanks you for your vid i learn more...

[@Artofdrink]

There are options and I am working on a video about it, it is one of the top questions I get asked. Thanks for watching!

[@namerahlimgas8203]

@@Artofdrink thank you sir, im waiting for that vid.

[@martik778]

I just want sugar free flavored soda water so I could just add the EO and ETOH?

[@Artofdrink]

It doesn't really work well, you will find most of the flavour just floats on top of the drink. Flavoured waters use emulsification techniques that are hard to replicate at home. But give it a try, you may find the results okay.

[@mkc673]

How does magnesium carbonate differ from other clarification methods like agar agar?

[@Artofdrink]

Agar binds and removes the flavour particles/oils whereas magnesium carbonate helps the oil droplets to form ultra-small droplets that don't recombine to form large drops that would separate from the water. It's a method of emulsification and it works because the particles of magnesium carbonate are so fine that the oil coats it but then is separated (shaking, filtering) but the droplets remain ultra fine. This method only works with a small amount of aromatic oils, at some point it too much oil will always separate from the water.

[@fissioncdot]

Do you have thoughts on glycerin for diluting essential oils? I see commercial extracts such as Fee Bros. bitters that use water and glycerin as a medium rather than alcohol.

[@Artofdrink]

I do, and I’m working on that video, so hopefully in a couple of weeks it will be posted. It is more complex than water/alcohol mixtures plus I want to talk about a few other food grade solvents similar to glycerin. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.

[@Dominikmj]

@@Artofdrink Looking forward to see this. I think overall solvents (other than ethanol) are interesting - and I cannot wait to see more of it.

[@shippingdept5562]

have you ever tried using powdered extracts instead of oils for making soda essence?

[@Artofdrink]

No, but powdered extracts contain other substances so would result in a cloudy drink and possibly sediment.

[@joebine6644]

Instead of essential oils, could we use food grade flavors that have PG as carrier? If not, where would pg flavors be useful? I have many Pg flavors and trying to guess where they could be used in this. 😊awesome video thanks so much!

[@Artofdrink]

PG-based flavours are just essences made similarly to this video, so yes.

[@joebine6644]

​@@Artofdrinknice!! Thank you! Was scrolling in the comments ans saw you already answered😊, but the ratio wouldn't be 1oz to 15oz of ethanol though..what would you suggest? 😅thanks so much for your time Darcy!💯

[@Artofdrink]

@@joebine6644 16 oz of the PG flavour is roughly equal to 16 oz of the alcohol essence in this video. The flavour component of the PG flavours is about the same as the essential oil component in the essence video.

[@joebine6644]

​@@ArtofdrinkI thought an Essence was no other than E.O's with high proof alcohol, but E.o's are switchable with pg flavors! But what ratio?? I'm not afraid to test but I don't have much high proof EtOH. What would you say?😊

[@joebine6644]

@@Artofdrink 😮 welllll that's awesome news!! I have over 850 pg flavours!! I thought I was going to have to buy every flavor in E.O type! Suuuuuch a saver! Thank you Mr. Darcy!

[@tariqmahmoodqureshi9297]

Hi Mr. Here is one problem wich I am facing. I am not a Chemist but I want to prepare flavoured sugar syrup. For instance if I prepare the simple sugar syrup of 5 Kg sugar + 2.5 litre of water with a quantity of citric acid of 10 gms & with a quantity of 10 gms of food colour. How many ml of essence is required to make the tasteful synthetic flavoured sugar syrup. If you let me know the answer of my problem, I shall be very thankful to you.

[@Artofdrink]

For every 4 litres of simple syrup, simply add 30 to 60 ml of flavour essence.

[@tariqmahmoodqureshi9297]

@@Artofdrink THANK YOU SIR But will it not be too much i.e. 30 to 60 ml of Essence? Further, how much grams of food colour should be add in 4 litres of simple syrup?

[@Artofdrink]

@@tariqmahmoodqureshi9297 as long as you follow the instructions on making the essence in the video, 30 to 60 ml will be the correct volume for the amount of syrup you are making.

[@haronodukachagan7812]

Can bentonite be used instead of magnesium carbonate

[@Artofdrink]

No, bentonite would not works well as it would be difficult to filter. But you could use pumice powder, and pumice actually works better than magnesium carbonate.

[@moeinsheikhottayefe5812]

Hi... I have a serious question...I live in a Muslim country so what is the replacement for Etoh?

[@Artofdrink]

Look for flavours in propylene glycol, glycerin or made with emulsifiers, like polysorbates.

[@moeinsheikhottayefe5812]

@Artofdrink Thanks a lot... May I ask you for a reference for further reading on this subject?

[@Artofdrink]

@@moeinsheikhottayefe5812 there isn't a single book or resource for this, it's the study of chemistry that gives you the understanding of this and that is to big of a topic to discuss here. But I do some videos on using no alcohol.

[@arzamshah]

Thank you for the wonderful sharing!! You are amazing! I really wanted to become a food flavorist to produce own flavoring for my own small business Can u give me ideas of where to start? i cant find enough resources to learn I really want to learn T_T

[@Artofdrink]

Glad you found the channel. Most of the resources come from old soda fountain manuals (Standard Manual of Soda 1901) and modern text books (Source Book of Flavours, 1998, which is quite expensive to buy but check out your local University library). Otherwise, stick around, my next video is on how to calculate the amounts need to make flavours.

[@arzamshah]

@@Artofdrink please do a video about how to make flavor from scratch using aromatic compound 🙏🙏🙏

[@nicholasblackweedcountry]

Great video. What if 190proof ever clear is unavailable, 190proof is illegal in California.

[@Artofdrink]

You can use lower ABV things like vodka, though look for 50% abv which should be available in most places. Failing that, take 40% abv vodka and add some glycerin or propylene glycol (I did a video on those recently) and it will help.

[@nicholasblackweedcountry]

@@Artofdrink ty

[@cherylcharming]

You’re so cool.

[@Artofdrink]

That’s because I have cool friends like you. Hope all is well.

[@Einstellung]

Thank you for providing this video. I’m a little bit unclear. Let’s assume I wanted to make a soda without sugar (like bubbly) are those flavours called the essence?

[@Artofdrink]

Yes, the essences are flavours, but you still need to dilute them properly. I will be doing a video in the future on sugar free carbonated waters in the future. Stay tuned.

[@Einstellung]

@@Artofdrink I can’t wait!

[@dickodwicahyo2794]

Can u make gin essence?

[@Artofdrink]

Eventually I'll make one, it is on my list.

[@joshwells3247]

What's the difference between an extract and an essence?

[@joshwells3247]

In regards to diluting down for a soda?

[@Artofdrink]

Essences are pretty standard but extracts are more varied when used in soda flavours and are often used in lower levels. Basically, old soda fountain books will list the amount to use, but if you are creating something new, you'll need to experiment.

[@joshwells3247]

@@Artofdrink awesome I'll work with it

[@joshwells3247]

Any idea of a good starting volume per pint of ethanol?

[@Artofdrink]

@@joshwells3247 start with a teaspoon per pint and then adjust.

[@joebine6644]

So... nobody gon talk about how this just became orange???😅❤what's going on here!?😊

[@BOTP912]

My soda taste like flavored sparkling water not soda

[@isaacholzwarth]

You probably need citric acid and/or sugar(if you didn't do sugar already). A soda syrup needs enough flavor essence to give it flavor, enough sugar for sweetness (usually 1 to 2 ounces of 1:1 or 3:2 simple syrup), and some acid (like citric acid) for tartness/bite.