This recipe is for all the soda and sparkling drink lovers! It’s a homemade cherry coke made with just a couple simple ingredients. No refined sugars, food colors or dyes, or artificial flavors. It’s the perfect drink for summer BBQs, Friday night movie nights, or for sipping by the pool. It’s both kid and adult friendly!
A little background…
There’s a homemade coke recipe that’s all over social media right now. It’s made with just 2 ingredients – sparkling water and balsamic vinegar. My husband and I gave this drink a try and we didn’t love it. Once we added some sweetener and pure vanilla extract to the drink, however, it was pretty good and it did definitely resemble a Coca-Cola! We thought it would be fun to try making a homemade cherry coke as well! I used the 2 ingredient coke recipe as my base (sparkling water and a touch of balsamic vinegar) and then I added a homemade cherry syrup to the drink. The result? A delicious homemade cherry coke!
What ingredients do I need for this homemade cherry coke?
You’ll need just a couple simple ingredients to make this drink. Here’s what you’ll need:
- sparkling water
- balsamic vinegar (the higher the quality, the better)
- frozen cherries
- water
- pure vanilla extract
- salt
- pure maple syrup or raw honey
What kind of balsamic vinegar should I use?
You’ll want to use a simple balsamic vinegar made from grape must. I like to use balsamic vinegar without any added colors or flavorings. The higher quality balsamic vinegar you use, the better the drink will taste! But traditional grocery store balsamic vinegar will also work just fine if you don’t want to spend money on high quality balsamic vinegar.
Do I have to add balsamic vinegar?
If you don’t think you can handle adding some balsamic vinegar to your drink, you can definitely leave it out! Please note, this drink will taste different without the balsamic vinegar. Funny enough, we actually like this drink better with the balsamic vinegar, as it has more of the traditional cherry coke taste! I would recommend trying this recipe first with the balsamic vinegar. If you don’t like it, you can certainly make it without (though it will be more like a cherry flavored soda without the balsamic vinegar).
What kind of sparkling water do you use?
We like to make our own sparkling water using our Soda Stream! This appliance works super well and we have created so many fun sparkling drink recipes using it.
Looking for my original homemade coke recipe?
If you want to try my original homemade coke recipe, here’s how to make it. Mix together 6oz sparkling water, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 TBS pure maple syrup. Pour over ice and enjoy!
Homemade Cherry Coke
Ingredients
For the Cherry Syrup
- 1 cup frozen cherries
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp honey (or pure maple syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
Other Ingredients
- Sparkling water
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- First, prepare the cherry syrup: add 1 cup of frozen cherries and 1/4 cup of water to a small saucepan and heat over low heat until the cherries are warm and juicy (or simply heat the cherries and water in the microwave until warm).Â
- Allow the cherry mixture to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, add the cherry mixture, sweetener, pure vanilla extract, and salt to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Next, prepare your drinks. Add ice, 6oz sparkling water, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and 3 TBS homemade cherry syrup to each glass. Gently mix to combine.
- Serve and enjoy! Store any leftover cherry syrup in the fridge.