Reddit mentions of Vic Firth 11-Inch Muddler

My personal favorite.
It's one of the only ones you can buy without a finish on it already. I was a drummer for a time so the Vic Firth name had me pretty excited, too. My tried and true way to seal it is using mineral oil. You keep a bottle handy and after every other night of use, rub some oil on with a towel.

I can't say enough about how awesome [seltzer bottles] are. I picked up a couple vintage ones from ebay that I use. There are a ton of ways you can go, but making variations on simple syrups is a great approach. A basic simple syrup is equal parts (volume wise) sugar and water. You put it on the stove until it first starts to bubble and then kill the heat. At this point you can add herbs and let them steep for an hour or so and then strain the syrup and press on the herbs. I've had great success with mint, basil, thyme and lavender. You can also use citrus zest; I find a microplane to be essential for this. Ginger is also great for a simple syrup and I use the microplane for this as well.

Another great technique is muddling. You take some fruit and/or herbs and muddle them together. I prefer a plain wooden muddler with flat ends.

Here are some recipes; you have to experiment with quantities, but here are the ingredients:

Basil cranberry soda: cranberry juice, seltzer water and basil simple syrup.

Peach and basil soda: muddle peaches with basil, add seltzer water and basil simple syrup.

Blueberry and thyme soda: for this I puree the blueberries and run it through a strainer and then add thyme simple syrup and seltzer water.

Strawberry and mint soda: For this I chop and macerate both the strawberries and mint (add some sugar to the chopped strawberries and let them sit; it vastly improves the texture and flavor of the strawberries) and then puree it. I've also done this with cardamom instead of mint with the addition of orange zest gathered with a microplane. You then puree this and seltzer water.

Chai soda: I infuse a simple syrup with cardamom, ginger, black tea, cloves, nutmeg and smashed cinnamon sticks. I use four times the amount of black tea I would use to brew a cup of tea. Add seltzer water and you are good to go; a little whole milk can be a great addtion as well. A basic recipe follows:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

8 bags of lipton tea opened and the tea is then emptied

6 cardamom pods; crushed with a spoon

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon of cloves

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

2 cinnamon sticks; crushed into dime size pieces

Watermelon mint soda: Purreed watermelon, mint simple syrup and seltzer water.

Peach ginger soda: Macerate the peaches, puree them, add ginger simple syrup and seltzer water.

Blueberry lavender soda: Pureed and strained blueberries, lavender simple syrup and seltzer water.

There are a ton of ways you can go with this sort of thing. Sometimes some fresh lemon or lime juice can help balance the acidity. Have fun. Enjoy the fruit that is in season. Create your own fun drinks. Cheers.