They refresh and give that extra touch of movement that many cocktails need: soda, selz and tonic are the perfect accompaniment for many classic and timeless drinks, with their bubbles that caress the palate. What is the difference between these three drinks? Get ready to discover it - spoiler: it’s all about taste! To drink always perfect cocktails.
The difference between soda, tonic and seltz
What’s the difference between soda and seltz? Soda contains added minerals while seltz does not. The latter has a neutral flavor that is often enriched with aromas and fruity essences.
Soda, not to be confused with soft drinks, is a sparkling water very effervescent and with a very savory taste - due to the addition of various minerals to characterize the flavor.
Tonic is a drink with an unmistakable bitter taste. The main difference between soda and tonic lies in their composition: the first is only water, the second is instead a real drink with a set of ingredients that enhance the bitter note.
Selz is the ingredient of essential drinks such as the Americano and the Venetian Spritz and is nothing more than a drinking water enriched with CO2 thanks to a siphon.
Everything about soda
What is soda
Soda water is so effervescent and has a distinctive taste - thanks to the addition of minerals such as sodium bicarbonate, potassium, potassium sulphate and, to make it saltier, sodium phosphate, sodium chloride and sodium citrate. It goes perfectly with a large number of liqueurs and spirits, but the Whiskey soda is the perfect example of a successful combination. Other examples of soda cocktails include:
- Mojito
- Vodka Soda
- Hugo
What’s the soda for
In addition to being digestive thanks to the typical sparkling, it lengthens the distillates and long drinks too intense to drink "smooth" and gives a touch of savory flavor that enhances all other flavor notes.
Everything about seltz
What is seltz
As we said, it is simply CO2-enriched drinking water. It has a neutral taste sometimes enriched with aromas and fruity essences and a much-loved ingredient for many drinks because the water seltz, thanks to the carbonation process, free small molecules (aldehydes) that give the cocktail a slight effervescence and enhance the aromas of the ingredients.
It is well known the use of seltz for the Venetian Spritz, but also for the Americano.
Everything about tonic
What is tonic
We are talking about a very popular soft drink made from carbonated water, sugar and Cinchona root extract - which gives the typical flavor. Perfect for enhancing the notes of spirits such as gin and vodka, it is the ingredient for some timeless cocktails such as Gin Tonic and Vodka Tonic, but also for non-alcoholic drinks with tonic and fruit.
Because of sugar, the calories of tonic are - generally - 34 per 100 ml. There is also sugar-free tonic for those who need to keep an eye on sugar consumption.
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