Salted Plum Soda Cocktail Recipe
A preserved salted plum dropped into vodka and soda — sour, salty and slowly getting stronger as the plum dissolves.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 8%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Vodka45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Salted plum1 piece
- Fresh lime juice20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Simple syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Soda water120 ml (4.1 oz)
How to Make It
- Drop the salted plum into the bottom of a tall glass and press it lightly.
- Add the vodka, lime juice and syrup, then fill with ice.
- Top with soda water and stir once.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Garnish
Lime wedge
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads, it is carbonated, it drinks cool and easy and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Vodka
- Vodka brings body and alcohol rather than flavour; its job is to get out of the way of everything else. Which is why, in a vodka drink, how fresh the juice is matters far more than the brand.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
The Story
Salted plums are sold everywhere in Thailand as a snack; dropping one into a drink is a street-side habit that bars picked up later.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Salted Plum Soda mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Salted Plum Soda?
- Roughly 8% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Salted Plum Soda be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Salted Plum Soda hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.