Coke is so Southern that in parts of the South, the word is still a stand-in for soda—as in, “I’m craving a Coke. I think I’ll grab a cold Dr. Pepper.”
Really, just about everyone grew up with Coke or Pepsi, but ask us to describe the flavor, and we’re stumped. For most of us, it’s just Coke.
Rylan Thompson knows better. Inspired by a visit to a craft cola company in Tokyo, the bar manager at Easy Bistro & Bar in Chattanooga created his own scratch-made cola syrup, which he puts to work in a whiskey-and-Coke riff called the Easy Cola.
There are simpler ways to make a cola-flavored cocktail. But working on the syrup helped Thompson understand the basic elements of the world’s favorite soda and make it his own. “It was fun to be able to piece together the flavors and taste, ‘Oh, that’s star anise in there, and that’s black pepper,’” Thompson says.
The only obvious ingredient he left out was the kola nut, the original formula’s bitter, caffeine-bearing namesake. It was too hard to source, he says. But he’s in good company there—the nut is no longer used for Coke, Pepsi, RC, or other mass-market colas. And that means you can get everything you need at Harris Teeter.
To enjoy Thompson’s amber-colored syrup, you can simply mix it with soda water—he recommends two ounces of syrup per pint glass, topped with ice and soda—to make a drink that doesn’t taste like Coke, exactly, but like an apothecary ancestor, with notes of citrus and holiday spice that harmonize in a familiar way.
For the Easy Cola, Thompson adds two ingredients—both Italian liqueurs—that emphasize the cola flavor profile. “The whiskey, the amaro, and the vermouth layer on similar flavors: vanilla, root beer, cinnamon, bitter chocolate,” he says. “The Carpano gives it a bitter backbone, so it’s not just sweet.”
Note: This is a slightly simplified version of Thompson’s recipe. If you don’t want to make your own cola syrup, there are bottled versions available, including a barrel-aged version from North Charleston, South Carolina’s Bittermilk, a past Made in the South Awards winner.