Kitchen Beverages

Pepsi And Buffalo Sauce Sounds So Gross, But We Have To Try It

glasses of soda with lime Pjohnson1/Getty Images
By Lauren Waters

How does a Buffalo Pepsi sound? Regardless of your personal taste buds, most of us can probably agree that Buffalo Pepsi sounds pretty questionable. That said, you might change your mind when you hear that this unorthodox drink was actually Pepsi's own idea. On September 27, 2023, the official Pepsi account took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a special recipe. That recipe was posted alongside a photo of Buffalo sauce being poured into a glass of Pepsi Zero Sugar. The caption reads, "How do you bring #BillsMafia energy to Pepsi? Add Buffalo sauce."

Unsurprisingly, this advertisement was met with plenty of confused and disapproving comments. Yet, the recipe features four ingredients and is pictured with a plate of Buffalo wings, so it's clear that this flavor combination wasn't whipped up just to drum up hate comments. This begs the question: Is Pepsi onto something? That remains to be seen. But when we consider the popularity of the Bloody Mary, we think this soda maker just might be.

Is Buffalo Pepsi the new Bloody Mary?

Bloody Mary surrounded by ingredients Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock

Pepsi dropped its new zero-sugar formula just in time for NFL playoffs this past year, so it's no wonder that it's gearing up to fuel another football season with its sugar-free soda. But, will the Buffalo Pepsi recipe actually become a game-day staple, itself? That depends entirely on whether this spicy drink being promoted on X is actually any good. 

The beverage is comprised of a glass of ice and sugar-free Pepsi with one tablespoon of Buffalo sauce. The recipe recommends adding a celery stick and a blue cheese rim. Clearly, this drink does share a lot of DNA with a Bloody Mary. And, while the makings of the Buffalo Pepsi sound vile to some, it may actually be a lot more palatable than a Bloody Mary to many.

Swapping out tomato juice for Pepsi actually replaces one drink that many folks have an aversion to with another that's a bit more mainstream. As a result, the Buffalo Pepsi could be a great way to sip on something spicy with your game-day snacks if you're not a fan of tomato juice. Of course, this logic only holds if these flavors mesh well together, which has yet to be confirmed. Still, we have a feeling that plenty of folks are going to test it out, and a football fan or two will almost certainly try it spiked, too. Here's hoping that this is the unexpected new way to enjoy a soda with your wings.

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