I'm not a big soda drinker, too much sugar and calories for not a lot of payoff. But, I love a tall fizzy drink. After realizing the amount of waste we were creating by buying Costco sized Perrier cases, we decided to invest in a water carbonator. After the first bottle of water I made, I realized the endless possibilities this little machine created.

I love Ginger Ale. It's my main soda indulgence and the first thing I order as a luxury on an air plane. I figured a simple syrup is the easiest way to create my own soda and scoured the internet for other people's experiments. After putting together a few recipes I found, I went to work.

I toasted peppercorns, whole allspice, cardamom seeds, and whole cloves.

 I then simmered fresh ginger and spices with water, brown sugar and white sugar.

 After the slow simmer and cooling process created a simple syrup, I strained the syrup into a jar ready for use and storage (good thing, I made 2 cups!)

A few spoonfuls of homemade ginger syrup, mixed with extra fizzy homemade soda water, and you have yourself a delish, and only slightly guilty soda.