Low Calorie Non-Alcoholic Orange-Bitters-Soda Surprise Recipe

I love me a good Old Fashioned—it’s the oldest cocktail recipe in the world!—but in the spirit of taking January off the sauce, I’ve taken the liberty of writing down my personal favorite replacement.

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Equipment

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• Big ice cube tray. Don’t settle for anything less. You can find these for 10 bucks, and they’re essential for making a drink that can look nice and official.
• Muddler.
• Peeler. I use a drink one, but in a pinch you can use a standard kitchen gadget.
• Big fancy glass.
• A SodaStream if you have it, to make your own soda water cheaply and to your specifications.

Ingredients

• Aromatic bitters. Angostura is my pick.
• Orange bitters. Optional, but a dash is nice.
• Orange. Navel is fine, you want something with a pretty firm peel. You can juice it the next morning.
• Sugar cubes. The perfect size for just a little sweetness. You can also use a teaspoon of simple syrup, or equivalent.
• SodaStream or soda water. I like to get a soda maker because it’s more cost-effective and better for the environment. Plus I can make it extra bubbly.
• That big ice cube you made with that fancy tray.

Directions

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1. Take two good peels from the orange per drink. Toss one in the bottom of the glass, save the other to finish it with.
2. Put a sugar cube in the glass. Add three dashes of aromatic bitters and maybe one dash of orange bitters.
3. Add a half inch of soda water and muddle thoroughly. Swirl around the glass a bit.
4. Add a large ice cube, then fill the glass with more soda water.
5. Stir a bit, then take that other orange peel and rub it around the rim of the glass. Twist it a bit over the glass for a bit of extra flavor.
6. Enjoy!

Hacks

• When the drink gets low, top it off with more soda water. It stays refreshing, and no added calories!
• Experimenting with other kinds of bitters is fun.
• If you have Polar Orange Vanilla soda water, oh man, use some of that, and leave out the orange bitters. That stuff is delicious.
• If you’re in a locale where it’s legal, those little liquid bottles of cannabis products go great. Just skip sugar cube if they’re sweet already!