My Take on the “Dirty Soda” Trend

When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives dropped on Hulu this September, I binge-watched the show over the course of a weekend.

From the Momtok Swinger Drama to the Chippendales drama, I was totally hooked.

While I loved the drama of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, I also feel like I learned a lot about Mormon culture, specifically Mormon soda shops. As the show explains, Mormons can’t drink alcohol or coffee, so soda shops have become extremely popular in Mormon communities. According to one of the cast members, Demi Engemann, “soda is kind of our vice.” The largest chain of soda shops is Swig, which currently has 59 locations across the US (mostly in the Southwest). They announced that they were opening 250 more locations in 2023. 

Swig is more than just a Coke machine. Swig’s most famous products are traditional sodas with flavors, fruits, and creams. They also have refreshers, revivers, and snacks. These “dirty sodas” are super popular amongst Mormons, with many of them starting their days with a 44oz dirty soda. At first, I was a little grossed out by the idea of mixing coffee creamer and soda, but I was also intrigued about dirty sodas. Considering their popularity, I figured they couldn’t be that bad. I decided to DIY one of Swig’s most popular drinks: the Dirty Dr. Pepper. 

Soda Ingredients: 

Diet or Regular Dr. Pepper

Coconut Coffee Creamer (the one I used is linked here)

Pebble ice 

Lime wedges (optional)

Soda Recipe: 

1.  Fill your glass with pebble ice (a must)
2.  Fill with ¾ of the way with Dr. Pepper (or Diet) 
3. Add coconut coffee creamer to taste
4. Stir with straw 
5. Garnish with lime
6. Enjoy! 

My Thoughts: 

Ok — was it as bad as I thought it was going to be? No. But would I regularly drink this instead of a normal Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, or root beer? Also, no.

It was surprisingly not too sweet, and the cherry flavor of the Dr. Pepper mixed well with the coconut flavor of the coffee creamer. I didn’t have lime on hand when I made this, but I think it would’ve been good with a splash of lime as well. The coffee cream made it taste creamy and almost a little milkshake-like. It reminded me nostalgically of an ice cream soda (one of my favorite desserts growing up). I would definitely recommend that everyone gives the Dirty Dr. Pepper (or “The Founder” if you add lime) a try, and if I am ever in Utah, I will definitely be going to a soda shop. 

• dirty soda
• entertainment
• food
• mormon
• recipe
• soda
• The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives
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