I don’t remember for sure when I had my first cherry coke, but I do remember where:  At the local Dairy Queen.  They had the pump bottle right there beside the soda fountain for a quick squirt or two before filling the cup under the spout.  If I had to guess I would put the date somewhere in the 1950s.  Yes, I’m an old fart.

A few weeks ago I noticed a small bottle of cherry syrup for flavoring shaved ice at a local store and bought it on a whim, nostalgic for the taste.  Now I find myself hooked on it – hard to drink my diet coke without a shot.  You may be thinking that a shot of sugar syrup in a diet coke is self defeating, and you would be correct, so I went online for a do it yourself recipe.  Tons of them out there.  Since the Splenda package touts using it one to one as sugar in recipes I gave this ratio a shot:

1-1/2 cups Splenda

2 packages of unsweetened cherry Kool-Aid

enough water to make four cups

Works for me!