Soda Water
Carbonated water carrying a little added mineral salt, which gives it a faint bite. It adds length and sparkle and nothing else, which is exactly the job: it stretches a drink, lifts it, and gets out of the way.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Neutral and clean with a crisp mineral edge from the carbonation; adds no sweetness or flavour of its own.
Storage & Handling
Keep sealed and refrigerated; use within a day or two of opening before it goes flat.
Shelf Life
Unopened: 6–12 months. Opened: use within a day or two before it goes flat.
Usage
Poured last, straight from a chilled bottle or siphon, over plenty of ice and stirred once at most. It tops highballs, spritzes and collinses without shifting the balance of what is underneath it.
The Mixer That Adds Nothing
Soda water is the one mixer that contributes only length and sparkle. No sugar, no flavour worth the name, no colour: it stretches a drink and lifts it, then stays out of the way.
That neutrality is the entire job. Where tonic brings quinine and sugar, soda lets the spirit and the citrus do the talking, which is why it carries a Tom Collins, a Mojito or a spritz without ever taking one over.
Soda, Seltzer and Sparkling Mineral
The names are used loosely and they do mean different things. Soda water and club soda carry a small quantity of added mineral salts, usually including sodium bicarbonate, which gives that faint alkaline bite.
Seltzer and plain sparkling water are water and carbon dioxide with nothing added. Sparkling mineral water carries whatever minerals its spring provided. In a mixed drink the three are near enough interchangeable, and in a glass on its own the difference is easy to taste.
Add It Last
Treat it as the final thing in the glass. Add it straight from a cold bottle or siphon, stir once if at all, and serve.
Every extra stir is bubbles thrown away, and carbonation is lost to agitation and to warmth in roughly equal measure. A highball that has gone flat has almost always been stirred too much, poured too warm, or built too early.
Keeping It Lively
Buy small bottles. An opened large one goes flat well before it is finished, and a flat soda makes a drink that tastes dull and faintly sweeter than it should.
A soda siphon charges cold water on demand and is livelier than anything from an opened bottle, which is why it was the traditional answer behind a bar. It is also the only way to guarantee full carbonation on the last drink of an evening as well as the first.
Temperature matters as much as the bottle. Carbon dioxide stays dissolved far better in cold water than in warm, so soda taken from a fridge holds its bubbles through the pour where the same bottle at room temperature loses them on the way into the glass.
Pro Tip
If a highball falls flat halfway down, the soda went in too early or got stirred too hard.
Top Tips
- Add soda last, straight from a chilled bottle or siphon, to keep the carbonation lively.
- Stir once, gently, if at all; over-stirring knocks the fizz out.
- Buy small bottles: an opened large one goes flat before you finish it.
Possible Substitutions
- Sparkling water
- Water charged in a soda siphon
- Tonic water, sparingly (adds sweetness and quinine)
Production Method
Purified water is chilled and charged with carbon dioxide under pressure, which dissolves into the water to create the carbonation. Club soda styles then add a small amount of mineral salts, such as sodium bicarbonate, for a slightly rounder taste. Nothing is sweetened, coloured or flavoured, which is what keeps it neutral.
History & Context
Carbonated water dates to the 18th century and the first artificial mineral waters; by the Victorian era the soda siphon was a fixture of every well-run bar. It underpins the whole highball family.
Common Questions
Soda water or tonic water?
Soda adds fizz and effectively nothing else; tonic adds quinine bitterness and sugar. Reach for soda when you want length without changing the flavour of what is underneath, and tonic when the bitterness is meant to be part of the drink.
Is soda water the same as sparkling water?
Not quite, though they swap freely in a mixed drink. Soda water and club soda carry added mineral salts for a faint bite; seltzer and plain sparkling water have nothing added; sparkling mineral water carries its spring’s own minerals.
Why has my highball gone flat?
Usually the soda went in too warm, too early, or was over-stirred. Carbonation is lost to agitation and to warmth in roughly equal measure. Add it last, cold, over plenty of ice, and stir once at most rather than properly.
Can I make my own?
A soda siphon charges cold water on demand and is livelier than anything from an opened bottle, which is why it was the traditional answer behind a bar. It also guarantees full carbonation on the last drink of an evening as well as the first.
Styles of soda water
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits