What is Club Soda, The Soft Drink Par Excellence, and How Is It Made?

Club Soda, that fizzy drink that accompanies so many of our moments of relaxation, is a simple but fascinating product. But how do you get that characteristic fizziness that distinguishes it? In fact, it is a non-alcoholic and calorie-free soft drink with just two ingredients: water and carbon dioxide; you mix everything in a simple process and that's it. You can also find drinks with calories (even a lot of calories) on the market because in large-scale distribution it is not unusual to add sugar to this type of drink.

Club Soda is Clear Water With a Heart of Gas

The first ingredient of soda, perhaps the most obvious, is water. But not just any water will do: to obtain a quality soda, you use pure, clear drinking water, often from selected sources. Water is the vehicle that will transport the bubbles and, depending on its origin, can give the soda a light mineral flavor. The real star of soda is carbon dioxide, a colorless and odorless gas that, dissolved in water, creates those small bubbles that burst in the mouth, giving a sensation of freshness. Carbon dioxide is produced industrially and then dissolved in water under pressure. It is precisely this pressure that holds the gas inside the bottle, ready to be released when it is opened.

The production of soda is a relatively simple process. Water is filtered and purified, then saturated with carbon dioxide in special containers. The drink is then bottled and packaged. There are different types of soda, which differ based on the production process and the ingredients used. Natural soda, for example, is produced through the fermentation of natural sugars, while artificial soda is obtained by adding flavorings and colorants to carbonated water.

Club Soda Vs. Tonic Water Vs. Seltzer

It is important to distinguish soda water from other similar drinks, such as seltzer and tonic water. Seltzer is simply carbonated water, without the addition of minerals, and is often made fresh with the aid of a siphon. Tonic water, on the other hand, contains sugar and quinine, which give it a distinctive flavor and a higher caloric intake than soda water and seltzer.