Flat or Fizzy - Fizzy please.

Many years ago, I had a job that enabled me to travel. I went to the U.K. for a few weeks and was lucky enough to attend a festival on the Thames. I went to purchase a bottle of water and the vendor asked - flat or fizzy?

Don't know why I thought of that but it's about as circuitous an introduction as I can muster for this drink I made up. I like fizzy drinks. I've developed a taste for diet vanilla coke lately - it's actually got a stronger vanilla flavor than the non-diet version. And when I'm feeling flush, I indulge in one of those nifty Italian Sodas at the Barnes and Noble cafe - but come on, what a rip.

Here's my simple cheap version of a

Italian (-American) Soda
sugar, 1-2 T
flavor, e.g., vanilla extract, 1 t
water, flat, ca. 1 oz
water, fizzy, ca. 11 oz

Add sugar to your favorite glass. Add about an once of tap water and swirl to dissolve the sugar. Add the flavor extract to the sugar solution. Then, fill with cold fizzy water. I like mine without ice.

I usually don't care about health or diet, but this drink is quite a bit lighter than a typical soft drink. For instance, when Coke finally oozes out of the can, it has a sugar content around 10% by weight. This version is about 3%.