Old Fashioned Soda Recipe

These old fashioned soda recipes make those authentic fruity flavored sodas once served in soda fountains throughout North America. The sparkling soda beverages are totally delicious, truly refreshing, and so much fun to serve.

The inventors of the sodas gave their creations fancy names such as Marathon Refresher and Royal Ruby to ensure they were unique from those sold by competing soda fountain operators, and to entice thirsty customers into making a purchase.

What IS a Standard Soda?

An old fashioned soda recipe for a straight or STANDARD soda called for a mixture of carbonated water, juices, and flavored soda syrups that tend to be somewhat acidic in nature and do not harmonize with milk or cream.

Syrup flavors such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, and so on are very popular ingredients for standard sodas made without milk or cream. Fresh fruit is sometimes added as a garnish.

You can either make homemade soda syrups from scratch or purchase ready-to-use soda syrups locally or online in a wide variety of popular flavors.

Old Fashioned Soda Recipes

The Dispenser's Formulary or Soda Water Guide (1915)

Fire Extinguisher

1 ounce orange syrup, 1 fluid dram lemon juice, 1/2 ounce raspberry syrup, 1/2 glass shaved ice.

Add several ounces of carbonated water, sir well, strain into an 8-ounce glass, and fill the latter with plain soda water, coarse stream. Serve with two straws.

Royal Ruby

2 ounces grape juice, 1 ounce strawberry syrup, 6 rose leaves and 6 mint leaves crushed well against the side of glass with 1/2 glassful cracked ice.

Stir thoroughly, then add carbonated water, coarse stream, and serve in a tall lemonade glass. Decorate with cherries and a slice of lemon. Price—12 ounces, 15 cents.

Maid Marion

Into a 12-ounce glass two-thirds full of shaved ice pour one-half ounce of pineapple juice, and 1 dram each of lemon juice and raspberry vinegar.

Fill glass nearly full with carbonated water (coarse steam) and garnish with a strawberry and a slice of fresh orange. Serve with spoon and straws. Price—10 ounces, 10 cents.

Marathon Refresher

Into a 12-ounce glass place three-fourths ounce each of strawberry, raspberry, and orange syrups, juice of one-half lemon, and one-half glass shaved ice.

Fill glass with carbonated water, coarse stream, mix with a spoon, decorate with fruit in season, and serve with straws. Charge 10 cents.

Personal Regards

2 ounces orange syrup, 1 ounce raspberry juice, 1/2 ounce orange juice. Place in a 12-ounce glass one-fourth full of shaved ice.

Shake well, fill with carbonated water, coarse stream, mix with a spoon, add a slice of orange or a small quantity of crushed pineapple, and serve with two straws. Price—12 ounces, 10 cents.

Raspberry Royal

This standard soda calls for 1/2 glass shaved ice, 1/2 ounce raspberry vinegar, 1/2 ounce raspberry juice, 1 ounce crushed raspberry fruit syrup.

Pour solid (without mixing), using sufficient carbonated water to fill glass; stir gently. Price—8 ounces, 5 cents.

Razzle Dazzle

1/2 ounce pineapple syrup, 1/2 dram lemon juice, 1 dram raspberry vinegar, 1 teaspoonful powdered sugar.

Fill soda glass two-thirds full of fine-cracked ice, put mixing spoon in glass and turn on coarse stream of carbonated water. Fill nearly to the top of the glass and stir with spoon, adding more cracked ice.

Over all place a teaspoonful of crushed raspberry and insert a small piece of orange between the ice and glass. Serve in ordinary thin soda glasses with straws.

Strawberry a la Washington

You need 1/3 glass shaved ice, 1 dash strawberry juice, 2 ounces strawberry syrup, 2 teaspoonfuls crushed strawberries.

Fill with carbonated water. Stir with spoon and add four halves of strawberries. Serve with spoon and straws.

Two ounces of sweet cream added to this formula might enhance its delectability. Add cream to syrup, then add the juice, and fruit.

Oriental Magi

Pour into a 12-ounce glass 1 ounce of strawberry syrup and 2 ounces of grape juice and fill the glass two-thirds full of shaved ice.

Break into the mixture a few sprigs of mint, shake thoroughly, fill with carbonated water, mix with a spoon, and decorate with fruit, etc. Price—10 ounces, 10 cents.

Strawberry Soda Deluxe

Mix 2 ounces of fresh strawberries with an equal weight of powdered sugar and allow to stand all night; in the morning crush the fruit, and use with a scoopful of ice cream in a large soda glass.

Now take an egg, and whip it using an egg beater to a foamy froth, which add to the fruit and cream mixture, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Top with whipped cream.

The inventor classes this old fashioned soda recipe with the "sodas." Made up in larger quantities than called for in this formula, a better flavor may be produced. Sells for 20 cents.