We started this one with Nuka-Cola, and the three whole cups of sugar told us right away it was going to be a sweet drink. Cardamom pods were nowhere to be found in the Wasteland, so ground cardamom stood in. Even before it boiled, the star anise, cinnamon and citrus zest had the whole set smelling amazing.
Being an established cooking show now, we had a batch of syrup pre-made. For the fizz we carbonated purified water in a soda maker we found while foraging. Please don't tell the Brotherhood of Steel.
At the tasting we called it actually pretty good, with a weird flavor to it. The anise really comes out, giving a citrusy licorice taste that not everyone loved. Less anise next time, but it paired nicely with the burger.
We're thrilled to introduce a new line of Nuka-Cola products! While we hoped to unveil the official secret recipe, including its 17 unique fruits, legal hurdles prevented us from doing so.
Nevertheless, our dedicated team of scientists has developed a formula that captures the iconic Nuka-Cola flavor while optimizing fruit usage by an impressive 566 percent. It's our way of sharing a taste of the future with you!
Nuka-Cola
Make the wasteland's favorite soda at home: a citrus and warm-spice cola syrup with cinnamon, cardamom and star anise, topped up with ice-cold seltzer.
Combine the water, sugar, citrus zests, cinnamon stick, cardamom, coriander and star anise in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, then take it off the heat.
While the syrup cools, squeeze in the orange, lemon and lime juice.
Stir in the vanilla and browning sauce.
Strain into an airtight container, cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. The syrup keeps for about 2 weeks.
For each drink, stir 5 to 7 tablespoons of syrup into a cup of seltzer over ice.
Browning sauce (such as Kitchen Bouquet) gives it the cola color. This syrup also goes into our Cola BBQ Sauce, Cola Floats and the Dirty Wastelander, so make it first.
Adapted from Fallout: The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook by Victoria Rosenthal (Insight Editions, 2018).
