get these nets
Veteran
05/09/25
What Are Dirty Sodas, and Why Is Everyone Drinking Them?
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Despite the anti-sugar fearmongering and our collective obsessions with wellness and hydration, there are still millions of Americans who, at some point every day, drink a soda. And a growing minority of those soda-drinkers are consuming “dirty sodas,” a concoction that went mainstream in 2022 thanks to its viral popularity on TikTok.
A combination of soda, coffee creamer, and flavored syrups, the dirty soda has risen from its humble origins as a sweet treat for Utahns who abstain from alcohol and caffeine to an actual business model, evidenced by the growing dirty soda chain Swig, which opened its 50th outpost in the United States in 2023, and its many imitators. Sonic Drive-In briefly launched a line-up of Dirty Drinks last year, which made adding sweet cream and a syrup flavor to soda an option. And the popularity of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has only brought the dirty soda craze to new audiences.
In early 2024, Coffee Mate also got in on the trend with the first retail product dedicated to dirty sodas. Its Dirty Soda Creamer is a coconut-lime flavored concoction intended to mimic the original dirty soda’s combination of flavors, and is meant to be poured directly into a soda. This summer, it’s bringing the original Dirty Soda Creamer back to shelves, and also launching a new flavor — Orange Creme Pop, meant to be mixed with an orange soda like Crush.
But what is a dirty soda, and do they even taste good? Well, it’s complicated.
What are dirty sodas?
In the mid-2010s, shops slinging “dirty sodas,” or fountain sodas spiked with cream, flavored syrups, and other add-ins, started popping up all over Utah. The drinks are similar to Italian sodas, which combine flavored syrups with club soda, but are made with popular soft drinks like Sprite and Diet Coke. Their popularity is owed in large part to Utah’s substantial population of Mormons, many of whom do not drink alcoholic beverages or coffee (and other “hot drinks”) because they are explicitly prohibited in the religious dogma.
“Dirty sodas have become more than a novel beverage; they have enmeshed themselves into the culture of Utah,” Michelle Leung wrote for Vice in 2016, as the dirty soda trend was peaking in that state. “Dirty soda shops are where you take the kids after soccer practice, where you go on a first date, where you stop in the morning, and where you go after work to treat yourself after your long day.”
In the years since Leung’s article, these virgin spiked sodas became a bonafide online sensation. Dirty soda shops have proliferated in Utah, and brands like Swig and Sodalicious are now opening a slew of new locations across the country.
What’s in a dirty soda?
The formula for the original dirty soda, the exact origin of which is hard to pinpoint, is simple: a Diet Coke poured over ice, then spiked with a shot of coconut syrup, lime juice, and half-and-half. Some shops use coconut-flavored coffee creamer instead of the syrup, but the flavor profile is ultimately the same. These days, there are are thousands of different combinations of cream, flavored syrups, fruit, and other add-ins on both soda shop menus and online videos, making this the kind of drink that you can fully customize to suit your preferences.
Are dirty sodas a TikTok thing?
At the very least, TikTok is responsible for bringing dirty sodas to the mainstream. In early 2022, dirty sodas trended on TikTok thanks to Gen Z musician Olivia Rodrigo, who posted a photo with a cup from Utah chain Swig in December 2021. In April 2022, TikTok was replete with more than 700,000 mentions of the #dirtysoda hashtag, most of which accompany videos of creators showing viewers how to make their own dirty sodas at home. Even in 2025, TikTok is still replete with creators making — and sharing the recipes for — their own dirty sodas
on Keto I take Diet Dr. Pepper Strawberries and Cream and add a lot of heavy whipping cream to it.
