American Classic Cola
The drink that took over the world; this old-fashioned recipe takes you back to its sweet-spiced medicinal origins in the American South.
The drink that conquered the world had humble origins back in the 19th century, developed by a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia as an energising tonic. The drink took the name ‘cola’ from the addition of kola nuts, a West African ingredient which offers a source of energising caffeine. The original recipe also used cocaine for a while, which may have solidified its reputation as an energiser! Besides these active ingredients, the original cola concoction combined a mixture of citrus essences and juices, adding a sour edge, along with warm, ‘energising’ spices. This recipe uses a brown sugar for colour, but do use a raw cane sugar (panela) or demerara sugar which would be more fitting with the sugar of that time. Furthermore, I caramelise the sugar in this recipe which builds some deep colour and also adds the crucial caramel note that cola is famous for. Do add a nip of gravy browning for the true cola depth of colour, otherwise you will have a more tawny-hued but still tasty drink to make up with soda water to your taste. Let’s go!
