7 Sparkling Fall Drinks to Make at Home This October (No Fancy Equipment Required)

By the second week of October, my fridge is mostly cider. Jugs of it, usually, because someone always brings one to a gathering and nobody takes it home. It's good cold, it's good warm, and it turns out it's really good with bubbles in it.

That's the fun of having a Drinkmate in the kitchen this time of year. It carbonates juice, tea, and wine, not just water, so the whole fall pantry is fair game. Here's what we've been making, roughly in order of how often it happens.

Sparkling apple cider

This is the easy one and probably the best one. Get the cider cold, properly cold, then fill the bottle to the line and carbonate it in a few short presses instead of one long one. Juice foams more than water does, so patience pays off here. Pour it over ice, drop in a cinnamon stick if you're feeling fancy.

You end up with something close to the sparkling cider you'd buy around the holidays, except you made it in about a minute and it cost whatever the jug cost.

Cranberry-ginger spritzer

Cranberry juice is tart enough that it needs something to push back, and ginger does that well. Carbonate the cranberry juice, then pour it over ice with a splash of ginger beer and a squeeze of lime. Fresh cranberries in the glass look great and are completely optional.

If it's that kind of night, bourbon works in here. Stir it in after carbonating, gently.

Spiced pear fizz

Pear juice doesn't get the attention it deserves. It's mellow and a little floral, and it takes carbonation well. Carbonate it plain, then stir a teaspoon or two of cinnamon-vanilla syrup into the glass. To make the syrup, simmer equal parts sugar and water with a cinnamon stick and half a vanilla bean for ten minutes, then let it cool all the way before it goes anywhere near your bottle.

Pumpkin spice soda, without the latte

Yes, really. Simmer water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a spoonful of pumpkin puree, then strain it through a fine sieve until it's smooth and chill it. Carbonate cold water on its own, and stir the syrup in afterward, to taste.

Adding the syrup after carbonating keeps the bubbles lively and lets you decide how sweet it gets. Start with less than you think you need.

Sparkling chai

Brew chai strong, let it cool, and refrigerate it until it's cold. Carbonate it, pour over ice, and add a little oat milk or regular milk at the end if you like. It's less sweet than the other drinks on this list, which is why some people prefer it.

Cider sangria, but fizzy

For when people are coming over. Stir together cold apple cider, a bottle of white or rosé wine, sliced apples and pears, and a cinnamon stick in a pitcher, and leave it for a few hours. Then carbonate it by the glass. Drinkmate can handle wine, so you get a sparkling sangria without buying sparkling wine.

Bringing a flat soda back

Half a bottle of ginger ale left over after a get-together is one of life's small sadnesses. You can carbonate it again. It won't be quite factory fresh, but it's a lot better than pouring it down the sink.

A few things that make all of this easier

Keep your liquids cold. Carbonation holds much better in a cold drink, so give everything a good hour in the fridge first.

Don't overfill the bottle. The fill line is there for a reason, and sugary drinks need the extra headspace.

Cool any warm syrup or tea completely before it goes in the bottle. Carbonate cold drinks only.

And always release the pressure through the valve before you take the bottle off.

Why bother in October?

Mostly because fall means people over, and people over means a lot of drinks. A Drinkmate runs on CO2 and nothing else, so it's easy to bring along to a tailgate or a cabin weekend. Standard 60L threaded CO2 cylinders sold in North America work with it, including SodaStream and Soda Sense, so restocking before a busy month isn't a hassle. And making your own means you pick the sweetness, which is handy in a season that's already full of pie.

Questions people ask

Can I carbonate apple cider in a Drinkmate? Yes. Chill it first and carbonate in short bursts so it doesn't foam over.

Can I carbonate something warm? No. Cold liquids only. If a recipe has a warm element, cool it completely first.

Which fall flavors carbonate best? Apple, pear, and cranberry juices all work well, along with chilled tea and wine. For thick flavors like pumpkin, make a strained syrup and add it after carbonating.

Can I make cocktails? You can. Plenty of people carbonate mixers or finished drinks. Please enjoy responsibly.