Drive-In Style Cherry Limeade

Before you start

The drive-in cherry limeade is less a lemonade than a dressed-up soda: lemon-lime soda poured over crushed ice, sharpened with squeezed lime wedges and sweetened with bright cherry syrup, then finished with a maraschino cherry. It is sweet, fizzy and tart in about equal measure.

The lime does the heavy lifting. Squeezing wedges directly into the glass and dropping them in releases oils from the peel that bottled juice lacks. For the cherry, the syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries is the classic shortcut, but a quick homemade syrup from frozen sweet cherries tastes far more like fruit. Add the soda last and stir gently so the drink keeps its fizz.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lime wedges — from 1 lime
• 30 ml (1 oz) cherry syrup — maraschino cherry jar syrup or homemade, see variations
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lime juice
• 300 ml (10 oz) lemon-lime soda — well chilled
• 2 cups crushed or pebble ice
• 2 maraschino cherries — for garnish

Method

1. Squeeze the lime wedges into the glass and drop them in, peel side down. Press them lightly with a spoon to release some oil from the peel.
2. Add the cherry syrup and lime juice and stir to combine.
3. Fill the glass to the top with crushed ice.
4. Slowly pour in the chilled soda, tilting the glass slightly so it does not foam over.
5. Lift the ice once or twice with a bar spoon to mix the syrup through without knocking out the bubbles.
6. Top with maraschino cherries and serve with a straw.

Tips for success

• Chill the soda thoroughly. Warm soda foams up and goes flat quickly on ice.
• Crushed ice gives the classic drive-in texture and chills fast, but it dilutes quickly. Drink it promptly.
• Taste and add 5 ml more lime juice if the drink seems candy-sweet.

Substitutions

Lemon-lime soda

Use soda water plus 15 ml simple syrup for a drier, less sweet limeade with the same fizz.

Cherry syrup

Grenadine gives a similar color with a pomegranate tartness. Use 20 ml and taste.

Maraschino cherries

Fresh pitted sweet cherries or dark cocktail cherries look and taste less artificial.

Variations

Homemade cherry syrup

Simmer 200 g frozen sweet cherries with 100 g sugar and 100 ml water for 10 minutes, mash, strain and cool. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Vanilla cherry limeade

Add 5 ml vanilla syrup with the cherry syrup for a cream-soda note.

Troubleshooting

Flat drink

The soda was warm or stirred too hard. Use cold soda, pour gently and lift rather than stir.

Syrup sinks to the bottom

Stir the syrup with the lime juice before adding ice, then lift the ice gently after the soda.

Too sweet

Cut the cherry syrup to 20 ml or replace half the soda with soda water.

Storage

Serve immediately; the soda goes flat and the ice melts fast. Homemade cherry syrup keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; discard it if cloudy or moldy.