Cherry Limeade

Hi, my name is Memoria, and I am addicted to Sonic's Cherry Limeade.

In fact, this drink is the only item I like there, so if I'm looking for a quick meal and a limeade, I have to either go to Sonic (for the limeade) plus another fast-food place (for the meal), just buy a drink and make something at home, or just settle for a Route 44oz drink with nothing else. Acquiring the drink is a bit of a hassle, but worth it.

So, in order to remedy my problem, I decided to look for a copycat recipe for this addicting drink, and I found two viable ones that came from former Sonic employees. I had every ingredient but the soda and the limes. It was weird to buy soda at the store since I haven't done that in a very long time, so I just bought a 2 liter since it was the cheapest out of the other options (Man! Soda has gotten really expensive!! I'm so glad I don't buy the stuff on a regular basis!)

I started assembling the drink and decided to move all the ingredients to my "photo studio" (hah! I laugh at that. I so don't have a studio. If you all only knew...) to make some decent process photos. As I picked up the grenadine (a syrup made from pomegranate) to transport it to the living room, I dropped it on the kitchen floor, and the thick, red, liquid splattered everywhere! I cleaned up quickly and proceeded with the photo-taking.

I love how this recipe requires only a few ingredients to become something great. Make sure you stir the mixture for the full effect. Also, you may need to adjust the amount of lime juice or cherry syrup or grenadine to get the right ratio. When I used the amounts on the original recipes (the slightly modified version is below), I was pleased with the taste of the drink, but it wasn't quite spot on. I added more lime juice and grenadine, stirred the mixture again, and it tasted almost exactly like Sonic's limeade.

The flavor is definitely close enough to the real thing and will definitely assuage any cravings. Since it contains soda (which I didn't know it had until I found the recipes), I still won't be able to make it whenever because I promised myself that I wouldn't buy soda for the house (I broke the rule this time hehe). If you're not opposed to soda and are addicted to Cherry Limeade (or you could make other flavors like strawberry limeade!) or are just curious as to how this drink tastes, I highly suggest making it. If you have children, they would have fun making this on their own, too. It is a lovely-looking drink. I love the two shades of colors.

Unstirred (left); stirred (right)

Cherry Limeade

adapted by the comment on copykat.com and aldenteblog
Yield: medium-sized Cherry Limeade (20 oz.)

1- 1 1/2 cup(s) ice
2-4 tbsp of flavored syrup (use cherry snow cone syrup or grenadine)
1 lime, squeezed
1 maraschino cherry (or as many as you like!! I love cherries!)

Crush the ice, and place it in the glass. Add 2 Tbsp of syrup or grenadine. Squeeze an entire lime (if you like a more tart taste) on top of the grenadine. Pour in about 12-16 ounces of Sprite until the glass has been filled.

For a more cherry taste, add more syrup and for a more tart taste, add more lime. Play around with the ingredients to suit your personal taste.

SUGAR-FREE: You can also make this drink sugar-free with a sugar-free cherry syrup (if you can find it) and Diet Sprite.

AMOUNTS FOR OTHER SIZED DRINKS:

• 20 oz gets 2 limes and 1/2 oz syrup or grenadine
• 32oz gets 3 limes and 3/4 oz syrup or grenadine
• 44oz gets 4 limes and 1 oz syrup or grenadine

Want a sip?