Italian Sodas, Part I

If you read the fine print on my Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode, you'll see that I didn't use actual amaretto, but a syrup (since we don't use alcohol unless it's cooked out.) Here's where I'll also confess that I had a hard time finding almond flavored syrup, and improvised with English Toffee and a wee bit of almond extract. But I learned that you CAN get almond syrup without having to order it! It's at World Market! Anyway, so I have all this syrup now and was trying to figure out what to do with it. Back in college I worked for a time as a server at a restaurant that offered Italian sodas, and since I had some heavy cream in the refrigerator asking to be put to good use, it was a no-brainer. Some club soda from the store, ice from the freezer, and badda bing, I had myself some fancy drinks. ..Well, fancier than the water and milk that I drink 99.9% of the time.
Here's a photo tutorial of how to make one of these puppies, and tomorrow I'll show you how I intend to use them to ring in the New Year!

Fill with ice, oh, about half way or a little more if you'd like.

If you're using a pump, your Italian soda will probably take about 4 pumps of syrup, give or take depending on the size of the glass, of course.

Pour in club soda..

...up until about there, leaving a little bit of room for...

...the heavy cream! Lots of Italian sodas don't have cream, but why not offer it and people can make them however they want?

Stir, stir, stir and serve! Note: it kind of looks cool to stir the syrup and soda before adding the cream and then just stir it a little once the cream is in. That's not how I did it this time, but there's always tomorrow. :)