50/50 is a drink mentioned a couple of times in my first book Seeing Colours. It was a drink the grandmother of a childhood friend of mine used to give us on a hot day. My friend Ian revered this drink but my memories of it are a little vague. Sadly, Ian passed away a few years ago so I can’t ask him what was in the drink, but as a kid I do remember asking his nan why it had that name and she said something very similar to Jay’s mum in Seeing Colours, that Mrs O’Grady couldn’t remember why it was given that name.

When I wanted a drink that said something about how family legends build up over time the 50/50 of my childhood seemed to be the perfect choice. A couple of people who have read the book have asked me for a recipe for it so I set out to come up with one that reproduced the taste I remember as a kid.

Ian’s Nan’s 50/50

400ml of Ginger Beer

400ml of Lemonade (Sprite)

1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Essence

1/3 Cup of lemon cordial

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of powdered cinnamon

I can’t be absolutely sure I’ve got the recipe right but after a bit of experimentation I came up with something that looks very similar to my memory and the taste is remarkably like the one I drank as a small boy. The original definitely had ginger beer in it and possibly lemonade (what Australians call Sprite). I remember the powdered cinnamon floating in the drink and this gives it a very distinctive flavour. Is this the same as the drink I had as a kid? Probably not but it’s not bad.