A dirty soda is defined as mixing a name brand soda such as Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola, or Mountain Dew with flavored syrups, fruit purees and creams. Trendy folks use the word “spiked” instead of “mixing” when describing a dirty soda.
I inadvertently stumbled across an Instagram announcement for a Swig drink stand opening in Norman, Oklahoma (1904 24th Avenue NW, Norman, OK 73069) on 6/10/22. Swig was founded by Nicole and Todd Tanner in St. George, Utah during 2010. Currently has forty-three locations in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas. Menus can vary slightly based on location. Competitors include Sodalicious, Thirst Happy Drinks and Treats and Fiiz Drinks.
After reviewing the online menu, I thought there’s a dirty soda or two I could try. Little did I know that for the next three calendar days (6/10-6/12/22), drinks and cookies were free to all patrons due to a soft opening. My family and I visited three times for drinks, which caused me to shift into deep study mode of Swig’s entire drink menu. Who on earth does a three day soft opening? Free drinks and sweets? Was I living in bizarro world? Did all the residents of Norman, OK (population of 128,097) get a free drink? Seemed that way due to the length of the drive thru line and how it grew each day. Maybe the summer of 2022 had a chance to be normal compared to the summers of 2020 and 2021.
Childhood Background
This blogger has some fleeting memories of a regimented childhood. Grew up with three older sisters, who each had a strong personality. My mother was in charge of our house, while my dad was an engineer at work. When my dad returned home after a long workday, both of my parents shouldered responsibilities of raising four kids. Due to being the youngest kid and outnumbered by females (4:2), I learned a valuable life skill that I rely on to this day…listening. A keen sense of listening has helped me both personally and professionally. Helps that my mind is always thinking and listening to key conversations and decisions. My childhood household didn’t allow sugar, candy or deserts. My parents were smart in limiting sugary treats to avoid cavities and promoting daily teeth brushing routines.
Also learned early in life that my dad really liked ice cream and still does to this day. My dad has never been a fan of the nationwide ice cream chains (Baskin-Robbins, Dairy Queen, Haagen Dazs), he prefers the mom and pop shops that create unique homemade flavors and a memorable milkshake. I could stomach small servings of ice cream growing up, but was transfixed when I could order a freshly made Cherry Cola fountain drink. The bubbles, the ice, the refreshing flavor of sweet cherries smoothing out the spicy flavor of Coca-Cola. I had found my go-to beverage at age 8 and I wanted to get as much of it as I could. The dream soda would end up in my hands once every two to three months. What a glorious beverage that I didn’t share with anyone and continued to savor the flavor profile.
Power of Mass Marketing
Fast forward five years to June 1985, and the Coca-Cola company decided to release Cherry Coke in cans, bottles and on tap at 7-11 stores and gas stations across the USA. I was incredibly excited to try a can and remember being eight years old again. Unfortunately I experienced one of the few letdowns in my life at that point in time. The flavor profile of Cherry Coke was good, but not great. Not as sweet and syrupy as I liked, and it just tasted like a watered down Coca-Cola. Sometimes expectations don’t meet reality and its how you deal with that situation that ultimately matters.
Fast forward three to four decades and this blogger has tried too many cans of Pepsi Blue, and every Mountain Dew flavor under the sun (still miss Code Red). Didn’t complain when the Coca-Cola company changed from New Coke to Coca-Cola Classic to numerous adjunct recipes. Dr. Pepper became by favorite soda in high school and I preferred Pepsi over Coca-Cola during my college years. 7-Up and Sprite were only used when I had an angry stomach (i.e. hangover), or was trying to recover from a cold or flu bug. I initially liked Root Beer from A&W Restaurants, but wasn’t a fan of the shear amount of foam when pouring from a bottle or can.
Ground Rules and Ranking System
In order to conduct a thorough scientific soda ranking system of Swig drinks, ground rules had to be established based on my years of soda drinking experience.
- No diet sodas of any kind are to be tasted. That rules out Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero Sugar.
- Sodas not to include half-and-half as an ingredient. That rules out Life’s a Peach, Naughty & Nice, The Heartbreaker, and Happy Camper. I’m not a coffee drinker and not ready to mix that ingredient with soda.
- Sodas menu only to be tasted, no Revivers, no Refreshers and no Hot Chocolates. Sweets & Treats not to be tasted either. Using the KISS (“Keep it simple, stupid!”) concept I learned from being a construction manager in 2004. It is simply time to get my drink on from this point forward.
Top 10 Dirty Sodas at Swig
Ranking system is based on initial sip impression, ingredients, flavor profile and aftertaste.
1. Malibu
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with coconut and vanilla
Tasting notes – Dr. Pepper and Malibu Rum mixed together, hold the rum. Simple, understated and delicious from first swig to last swig.
2. Bloody Wild
Ingredients – Mountain Dew with mango puree and strawberry puree
Tasting notes – A tropical fruit punch version of Mountain Dew and packed with caffeine
3. Loop-T-Loop
Ingredients – Sprite with strawberry, watermelon and peach
Tasting notes – A new and improved Shirley Temple and incredibly refreshing during the entire year
4. Spring Fling
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with vanilla, strawberry puree and coconut cream
Tasting notes – A strawberry milkshake with a hint of coconut on the back end
5. Raspberry Dream
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with raspberry puree and coconut cream
Tasting notes – A raspberry milkshake with a hint of coconut on the back end
6. Cherry Bomb
Ingredients – Pepsi with cherry, coconut and vanilla cream
Tasting notes – A cherry sundae from Dairy Queen and the only Pepsi drink on the menu as of early 2023
7. Dew Gooder
Ingredients – Mountain Dew with pineapple, fresh lime, raspberry puree and coconut cream
Tasting notes – Busy flavor profile with a pineapple and raspberry fruit salad that is tied together nicely by the fresh lime slice. Surprisingly refreshing and not too sweet.
8. Rip Tide
Ingredients – Sprite with cranberry, raspberry puree and fresh lime
Tasting notes – A carbonated version of Ocean Spray Cranberry juice and would compliment any holiday meal
9. Texas Tab
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with vanilla and coconut cream
Tasting notes – Almost as good as Mailbu, but a touch thicker due to the coconut cream being very prevalent on the backend
10. The Rocket
Ingredients – Mountain Dew with raspberry, coconut, blackberry and vanilla cream
Tasting notes – Was frankly intimidated to try this drink due to the diverse use of ingredients. Tastes like a bowl of Sprees and Skittles mixed together with a ton of caffeine behind it. That’s not a bad combo at all.
Honorable Mention
Dirty Dr. Pepper
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with coconut
Tasting notes – Simple and to the point, very similar to a Mounds candy bar
Beach Babe
Ingredients – Mountain Dew with raspberry, peach and vanilla cream
Tasting notes – A tropical fruit milkshake that borders on almost being too cloying sweet
Unlucky Ducky
Ingredients – Sprite with lemonade, strawberry and a gummy shark
Tasting notes – Nice use of lemonade to provide some much needed bite to Sprite. Lowest sugar drink on the menu to potentially order for kids when they have earned a reward.
The Ring King
Ingredients – Dr. Pepper with cupcake, strawberry puree and vanilla cream
Tasting notes – A chocolate covered strawberry with a chewy, cakey mouthfeel. Try this drink once to twice a year, when you have a hankering for a Hostess cupcake.
Future Outlook
Swig definitely provides a daily cold beverage alternative during warm temperature months, instead of stopping at Starbucks. Not only is Swig a cool and trendy drive-thru drink stand, it provides all parents a quick and easy way to grab a unique caffeinated soda. Does Swig have any competitors in the dirty soda business market? Yes they do and most of them have started in Utah. Sodalicious has twenty-six stores located in Utah, Arizona and Idaho. Focuses on caffeine free and low sugar drink recipes. Thirst Happy Drinks & Treats have six locations in Utah and are tied in with the Utah Jazz arena, Real Salt Lake FC soccer stadium and the Salt Lake Bees baseball stadium. Fiiz Drinks has fifty-seven locations in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico. Focus on a huge drink menu along with salty and sweet snacks.
The dirty soda market is definitely alive and well in the western half of the USA and is thriving as a business model. Caffeinated drinkers are now rejoicing on a daily basis. Welcome to soda nirvana!
Want to find highly rated beers near you? Check out this article that tells you how to locate great beer near you.
