Bronx Egg Cream

The work of the Temperance Movement ultimately manifested itself in the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, for thirteen long years.  Thankfully saner heads prevailed and by 1933 the experiment known as Prohibition was resigned to the dusty pages of history.

This month’s Mixology Monday, hosted by Shake, Stir & Sip is temperance, and called upon participants to mix a drink  completely void of spirits, liqueurs and potable bitters. In their place, homemade cordials, syrups, fresh herbs, spices, juices, and bitters were to be used.

After reading the post I pondered what to make over a cold beer.  The first thing to pop into my head were the classic drinks of old fashioned soda fountains.  Most have gone the way of Prohibition, but in Tallahassee, Florida we are home to Lofty Pursuits, an exceptional ice cream shop that serves up malts, fizzes, phosphates, and double awfuls.

I paged through their handy flow-chart and decided to mix up a Bronx Egg Cream.  The Egg Cream is a New York City Classic that contains neither eggs nor cream.  Its origins, ratios of ingredients, and brand of chocolate syrup to use are all hotly contested.  For my Egg Cream I made homemade chocolate syrup, whole organic milk, and some bottled seltzer I picked up at Winn-Dixie.

Chocolate Syrup Recipe:
– 3/4 cup water
– 1 1/4 cups sugar
– 3/4 cup cocoa powder
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1/8 tsp. kosher salt

Combine the above ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate. Yield is about a pint.

Bronx Egg Cream:
– 1 oz. ice cold milk
– Seltzer
– 1/2 to 3/4 oz of chocolate syrup
– 1 salted pretzel rod

Pour the milk into the bottom of a cold glass. Top with seltzer while stirring to create a creamy white head. Carefully drizzle chocolate syrup to taste through the head into the milk. Mix with a long spoon. Garnish with the pretzel rod for a Bronx Egg Cream or omit for a traditional Brooklyn Egg Cream.

The resulting drink is a rich brown bottom topped by a frothy white selzer/milk mixture. It is fizzy, sweet, light, and had a nice chocolate flavor. The pretzel rod’s saltiness contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the drink. My son and I both enjoyed a Bronx Egg Cream on our back steps after playing baseball, and as Mason hit the bottom of his glass he asked for another.  For more great temperance inspired recipes check out this month’s MiMo roundup.