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Celestial Cooler
Mix one tablespoonful of lemon syrup, one tablespoonful of pineapple syrup, and one tablespoonful of orange syrup. Pour into a glass one third full of cracked ice, and nearly fill with carbonated water. Pour in very carefully, so that it will float on top, one tablespoonful of grape juice. Serve with straws.
A soda-fountain layered drink that depends entirely on the density of the syrups. Nothing here is difficult, but the float will fail if the grape juice goes in fast.
- The hinge: the floatPour the grape juice over the back of a spoon held just above the surface of the carbonated water, so it spreads rather than plunges. The layer is unstable in any case, since grape juice is heavier than charged water; assemble it at the moment of serving.
- Fountain syrupsThese are simple syrups flavoured with fruit, not modern cordials or squashes. Roughly two parts sugar to one part water, boiled and cooled, then flavoured with juice or extract. Bottled snow-cone or Italian soda syrups are the closest commercial equivalent.
- Lemon syrupThe fountain version was strong and tart, made from strained lemon juice and rind stirred into hot syrup. If you use a commercial lemon syrup, expect the drink to read sweeter than intended and cut it with a squeeze of fresh juice.
- Pineapple syrupBefore the drink came from tinned fruit, this was often made by macerating shredded pineapple in sugar and straining. Syrup drained from a tin of pineapple in juice, reduced slightly, works and is closer in flavour than the confectionery versions.
- Carbonated waterPlain seltzer or club soda. Fountain water was drawn cold and under pressure, and bottled soda tends to go flat faster; chill the bottle thoroughly and it will hold its fizz against three tablespoons of syrup.
- Glass size and quantitiesThree tablespoons of syrup will want a fair-sized soda glass, on the order of 10 to 12 oz. In a smaller tumbler the drink will be cloying. Makes one.
- Cracked iceNot cubes and not crushed. Cracked ice is cubes broken into irregular pieces, which chill fast without watering the drink down the way shaved ice does.
The book belongs to the literature of temperance drink manuals, written for a soda fountain that had taken over the social role of the bar and for druggists and confectioners who needed a repertoire to match. Recipes like this one were built for showmanship at the counter: three syrups blended into a single pale base, then a dark ring of grape juice floated on top so the customer watched it settle. Grape juice had a particular standing in these books, since unfermented juice was promoted heavily by temperance advocates as the respectable alternative to wine, and it turns up again and again in this literature as both flavouring and symbol. The name follows fountain convention, where drinks were sold on a grand or fanciful title rather than a description of what was in the glass.