On 7 Sep 2007 06:36:28 GMT, Blinky the Shark wrote:

> One of the things they - Lucy was our favorite - served were phosphates.
> A phosphate consited of a bit of flavor syrup (usually fruity) in the
> bottom of a glass followed with long enough under the "fizz" nozzle to
> fill the glass. Presto! A cherry or lime or lemon phosphate. The fizz
> came in a very narrow stream under quite a bit of pressure. This
> process was kind of like having someone make you a soda from component
> parts -- like what happens in the machines at the fast food joints but
> in plain view. I don't, however, remember phosphates as being as sweet
> as soda. I happen to be sipping on a bottle of tonic water as I write,
> and what I remember about phosphates comes pretty close to what this
> tonic would be like if mixed with a bit of cherry or lime flavorant that
> didn't add any sweetness.

The secret ingredient in those was phosphoric acid. You put two
drops from an eyedropper into the glass as you make it. It gave
it a sort of peppery feel and a bite to it.

They still sue phosphoric acid in many colas, and the "All Sport"
line of sports drinks, but it's a milder concentration that the
phosphates of yore.

We used to make them at Swenson's Ice Cream. I was told to only
use *2 DROPS* per 16oz. So I used 4.

> Which brings me to Vanilla Bacardi, which makes one helluva good
> rum-and-Coke.

Try the Whalers Vanilla Rum.

-sw (drinking a cream soda)