It is safe to say that I am the worlds #1 greatest fan of Coca Cola™. I am also the world’s most scientifically educated Coca Cola fan. So a few things. If you any diet or otherwise altered Coca Cola, you aren’t drinking Coke, you are drinking a Coke product. So let’s have at it.

For bartenders, and hosts, the proper way to serve Coke is to fill a glass to the top with ice, and then pour the Coke over it. In addition, the Coke should be chilled, never room temperature. Here is the science. There is a specific science to the ratio of CO2 to liquid in Coke. The proper taste depends on that chemistry being maintained. Cold temperatures keep the maximum amount of CO2 in solution.

Accordingly, pouring a cold Coke over ice allows the maximum exposure of coke to ice surface area. It keeps the Coke cold and prevents the CO2 from massively escaping. The picture at the top of this post demonstrates the proper way to deliver a Coke. A nice fizzy head makes the first sip splash into the face of the drinker, and a wondrous party of CO2 bubbles remain trapped in the glass and in the Coke. Take a drink and Ah…..cold, fizzy refreshment.

Conversely, when you pour a Coke into a warm glass and then schlep a few ice cubes into the top of the glass, you qualify yourself as a moron, a lazy, clueless moron who should go to bartender hell. When you flop ice onto Coke after pouring it you cause two very unacceptable things to happen.

1. The war temperature allows undue amounts of CO to escape.
2. You create 2 temperature zones in the glass. The lower Coke stays warm and the top Coke near the ice is warm. Once again, when warm coke its a small zone of cold, CO2 is released. Since the cold zone is small and at the top of the glass, the CO2 is lost to the atmosphere, instead of staying in the drink, where it belongs.

Take a look at Figure #2. This is the result you will get from a lazy, moron bartender. Look how sad that glass looks. No head, no bubbles, no life. And taste? Blech. Last week I had a female bartender at the Capital Grille in Memphis, an otherwise impeccable restaurant take the time to get me fountain Coke, only to fill a glass and then dump 4 ice cubes into the top of the glass. As crazy as it sounds? It ruined my entire meal.

PEOPLE – COLD COKE OVER A FULL GLASS OF ICE

PS MEN! STRAWS AT THE BAR MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A SISSY