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Wild Cherry Sherbet
Make syrup of 9 ounces wild cherry syrup, 4 ounces sherbet syrup, 2 drams elixir calisaya, 2 drams acid phosphate, 1½ ounces port wine, 2 ounces water.
This is a fountain formula, not a finished drink: it makes a bottle of flavoring syrup that gets drawn by the ounce and topped with carbonated water. Everything is measured by fluid volume in apothecary units.
- The unitsOunces here are fluid ounces, and a fluid dram is one-eighth of a fluid ounce, about 3.7 mL or three-quarters of a teaspoon. Counting the four drams, the whole formula comes to about 16 fl oz, or two cups.
- Yield and servingFountain practice of the period was generally 1 to 1½ fl oz of syrup in the glass, filled with coarse carbonated water and stirred. This batch therefore draws roughly eleven to sixteen drinks.
- Sherbet syrupNot frozen sherbet. Fountain "sherbet syrup" was a plain or lemon-acid syrup carrying bicarbonate of soda and tartaric or citric acid, so it foamed when the carbonated water hit it. A lemon or plain simple syrup with a pinch of citric acid is the nearest modern stand-in; the fizz will be milder.
- Elixir calisayaAn officinal aromatic cinchona preparation, alcoholic and bitter with quinine. Bottled calisaya liqueurs and cinchona-based amari are the practical substitute. Anyone who reacts badly to quinine should leave it out, though the amount reaching any single glass is very small.
- Acid phosphateA dilute phosphoric acid solution carrying mineral salts; formulas varied, with calcium, magnesium and potassium phosphates the usual ones. It is still sold for exactly this purpose. It supplies a dry, mineral tartness that lemon juice does not imitate well. Use a food-grade fountain product, never laboratory phosphoric acid.
- Wild cherry syrupBuy it or make it from cherry fruit. Traditional wild cherry syrup was extracted from Prunus serotina bark, which carries cyanogenic glycosides; bark, pits and leaves are not material for improvising at home.
- The portHalf a fluid ounce across the whole batch is a coloring and rounding agent, only a few drops in any one drink. A ruby port does the job; tawny reads too nutty against the cherry.
- Mixing and keepingStir the elixir and acid phosphate into the syrups off any heat so the alcohol and the acid strength survive. Bottle and refrigerate; the low sugar concentration relative to a straight syrup means it will not keep indefinitely.
Soda fountain formularies like this one were written for dispensers who compounded their own syrups from pharmacy stock, which is why the measurements are in drams and the flavorings come from the prescription counter rather than the pantry. Wild cherry, cinchona and acid phosphate were all pharmacologically respectable in their day: wild cherry bark was a standard cough and "tonic" ingredient, calisaya the bitter cinchona preparation behind quinine, and acid phosphate was promoted as a nerve restorative as much as a flavor. The half-ounce of port is a holdover from the medicinal cordial tradition, where wine carried and dignified a dose. Formulas of this type sat on the line between soda and medicine, and the fountain itself was typically the front of a drugstore.</td>