GadgetGuy Asks: What else can SodaStream carbonate?

SodaStream is capable of making some decent fizzy beverages and some uber-quick sparkling water on the spot, but what else can you do with the carbonation appliance? Find out when we run some adult beverages through it.

The following will come under a “don’t try this at home unless you’re up for cleaning your kitchen,” as that’s exactly what we did following the test.

Two and a half hours later, our kitchen was spotless and the numerous beverage-related mishaps that resulted from our SodaStream experiment were nowhere to be seen or smelled, with that last one obvious when you see what we did.

But now, onto the fun.

For those who have been living without a SodaStream, the principle of the appliance is simple: it’s a machine that takes a CO2 tank and pushes carbonation into a tank of liquid.

With this technology – and it’s been around for years – you can take basic tap water and make sparkling water in about ten seconds.

From there, you can add SodaStream’s cordials or your own concoction and make a bottle of fizzy drink. Apart from avoiding a trip to the local convenience or grocery store for a beverage, SodaStream reduces the build up of plastic bottles in our landfills.

When it comes to mixing up fizzy drinks, SodaStream’s manual instructs you not to run the carbonation process with any syrup in the water, but rather, to add the sweet stuff afterwards.

And so this is the key to a successful soda making it seems: no sugar and no density, as plain water doesn’t have sugar, and lacks body. This means that the carbonation process will work every time, whether you’re making fizzy water with a minimal, a moderate, or a maximum amount of bubbles.

But what if you try carbonating liquids that are a little more adult?

We were curious whether it was possible to take wines, inject them with carbonation, and turn them into something a touch more sparkling.

So we tried, and found that, aside for a mess, you can actually take a white or rose bottle, pour it into the SodaStream canister, and make a nice drop of sparkling alcohol.

As for red wine, the results are reasonably explosive, with the liquid going, well, everywhere.

We haven’t quite nailed exactly what’s going on, but suspect it has to do with the body and density of the drink.

White wines aren’t as heavy as their red counterparts, and as a result, seem to have no problem taking the injection of carbon dioxide. But the shiraz was an absolute failure, working only in that it gave us a sparkling drop of wine, but ruining our kitchen in the process.

Flat Coke was also attempted, and while a first glance suggests you can rejuvenate and bring a dead bottle of the cola back to life, the taste just doesn’t work out.

The almost seven minute video at the top of the page doesn’t mention our tests with carbonating both a sweet sherry and bourbon, but we can tell you neither of them tasted good (and thus weren’t included), with the sherry producing an absolute mess when it foamed up.

Still, it’s an interesting test, though one we don’t suggest you try at home.

Video edited by Adrian Masiello