I've never conducted a soda reduction before, and I thought it most appropriate to try my hand at it in celebration of our 9th anniversary as a couple. Many cocktails call for reducing Coca-Cola, but my Dearest is different. She prefers Wal-Mart brand Dr. Pepper, Dr. Thunder. In the spirit of togetherness, I reduced Dr. Thunder to create a more viscous and syrupy version of it for cocktails.

A popular combo with Dr. Pepper is with cinnamon whiskey. Fireball (as it's appropriately named) evidently tastes very good when mixed equally with our soda supporter. Our combo of Dr. Thunder reduction (reduced by 1/2 its volume, specifically) and Fireball tasted very similar to a Hot Tamale or a Red Hot. Not just because it was spicy, because it was, but because it was sweet and spicy! Anna loved this combo, I was less than enthused. For her, the addition of soda dialed back the spiciness to a palatable level where she could enjoy it. That's a WIN in our book!

The two of us also went through a phase where we explored sake while we still lived in our first cohabitation location. We tried it warm, tried it cold, tried it hot and it was fun to see which version we preferred (I'm a hot sake guy, she's a cool sake girl). Mixing it with the soda reduction was very pleasing to me. I love the aftertaste of sake with its floral and savory notes. Combined with a serving of carbonated yum-yum, I couldn't be more impressed at the discovery! It felt right to call it something sounding educated, and refined (community member Rye_Seronie was right on the money with Sake M.D, get it? because DOCTOR Thunder??