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Grape Champagne (Syrup ounce Soda Water large)
Grape Syrup, 1 ounce; Soda Water, large stream, 7 ounces. A dash of Acid Phosphate.
A dash of Brandy.
A soda fountain formula, written in the shorthand a dispenser would read off a card while working the draft arm. It scales to a single tall glass.
- The measuresOne fluid ounce of syrup to seven of soda water oeight ounces of liquid, a 1:7 build, which implies a tall glass with room for foam. A "dash" is not a fixed quantity; treat it as a few drops rather than a splash.
- Large streamFountain taps had a coarse stream and a fine stream. The large stream was used to agitate and mix the syrup as the glass filled; the fine stream finished the head. Pouring soda hard down the middle of the glass approximates it.
- Acid phosphateA dilute solution of phosphoric acid with calcium, magnesium and potassium salts, sold to fountains as a souring agent. It is tart without being fruity, which is why it appears here rather than lemon or citric acid. It is made again commercially for cocktail work; there is no true kitchen substitute, since lemon juice adds flavour the drink is not built for.
- Grape syrupA fountain grape syrup was a sugar syrup flavoured with grape juice or grape essence, considerably sweeter and thicker than modern bottled grape juice. If substituting, reduce grape juice with sugar to a heavy syrup or the drink will be thin and undersweet.
- Why "champagne"The name most likely refers to the effect rather than the ingredient: the acid phosphate cuts the sweetness so the carbonation reads drier and more wine-like. Under-dose the phosphate and you have grape soda.
- The brandyA dash of brandy is a flavouring here, a fraction of a teaspoon. This is a soda with a scent of spirit, not a mixed drink.
- Assembly orderSyrup, acid phosphate and brandy into the empty glass first, then the soda. Adding acid to a glass already full of carbonated water will set off the head.
Soda fountain manuals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries ran long lists of drinks called "champagnes" — grape, orange, cherry, ginger — none of them wine and most of them entirely free of alcohol. The name sold the sensation: a dry, prickling, faintly acid drink served in a tall glass, respectable enough for customers who would not enter a saloon. Acid phosphate is the signature of the era, supplied to druggists in bulk and used widely at the counter; it did the souring work that citrus does in a modern bar, and it also fit the period's habit of treating the fountain as an extension of the pharmacy. The dash of brandy suggests a formula from a time and place where a druggist's fountain could still keep a spirit bottle among the dashers, and it may explain why the amount is so small — flavour, not fortification.