South African cocktail · built
Steelworks recipe
The classic South African non-alcoholic bar drink — kola tonic, bitters, ginger beer and soda.
A Steelworks is 25 ml (28.7 g) Kola Tonic, 2 ml (2 g) Angostura Bitters, 100 ml (104 g) Ginger Beer and 100 ml (100 g) Soda Water, built and served in a highball glass. It pours to about 227 ml before ice, at roughly 0.4% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasshighball glass
- Methodbuilt
- Pour volume227 ml
- Strength (est.)0.4% ABV
- Time3 min
Steelworks ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kola Tonic | 25 ml | 28.7 g | 1.15 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Angostura Bitters | 2 ml | — | 0.98 | 4 dashes |
| Ginger Beer | 100 ml | 104 g | 1.04 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Soda Water | 100 ml | 100 g | 1.00 | Weighed by the coaster |
How to make a Steelworks
- Set your highball glass on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Fill the highball glass with fresh ice.
- Build Kola Tonic straight into the glass, weighing each pour.
- Top with Ginger Beer and Soda Water and stir once, gently, from the bottom up.
- Finish with 4 dashes of Angostura Bitters.
Steelworks: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Steelworks?
Roughly 0.4% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Long and low-strength — closer to a spritz than a spirit-forward drink.
What glass should a Steelworks be served in?
A highball glass. Fill it with fresh ice, not the ice you mixed with.
Can I make a Steelworks without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this Steelworks is weighed.
If you like the Steelworks
Rock Shandy
Half lemonade, half soda, a good splash of bitters. The SA sundowner that keeps you sharp.
Brandy & Coke
The national drink — 'Klippies & Coke'. South African brandy over ice, topped with cola.
Cane & Cream Soda
Cane spirit and green cream soda — the legendary SA student combo.
Green Mamba
Bright green and dangerous — cane spirit and blue curaçao turned green with orange juice and lemonade.
Soweto Sunrise
A township twist on the sunrise — vodka and orange juice over a slow-sinking grenadine dawn.
Rooibos Gin & Tonic
A Cape G&T — gin with chilled rooibos tea and tonic, warm amber and gently earthy.