What, Exactly, Is A Dirty Drink (And Is It Different From A Dirty Soda)?

You know those articles where you have to scroll and scroll and scroll to find the answer to a simple question? This isn't one of them. Just a few lines in, and we're prepared to tell you the answer: Nope, there's no difference between a dirty drink and a dirty soda. Well, unless you're referring to a boozy drink like a dirty martini or dirty Shirley, since the former contains no soda and the latter is, well, just not in keeping with the dirty-soda spirit. Dirty sodas of the nonalcoholic kind, consisting of soda with added ingredients like fruit, syrup, or cream, were originally popularized by the Mormon community as an alternative to the cocktails and fancy coffee drinks that they consider off-limits for religious reasons.

Even though "dirty soda" is a popular term for the drink, these beverages are often sold as "dirty drinks" instead. This is perhaps because the Utah-based soda chain Swig, which claims to have pioneered the concept, is known to be fairly litigious. In 2017, it settled a lawsuit filed against rival chain Sodalicious for using the term "dirty soda," and now, that word no longer appears on the latter's menu. When Sonic added dirty sodas of its own, it didn't put the two words together, instead playing things safe with the tagline "make it dirty." This may have spared the fast food chain the attention of Swig's founder, Nicole Tanner, who told Nation's Restaurant News that establishments selling dirty sodas under that name may receive cease-and-desist letters. She hasn't sued TikTok, though, of course, so it still has "dirty soda" recipes galore.

If you've yet to try the dirty soda trend, one way to start would be by making a knockoff version of anything on the menu of a dirty soda (or dirty drink) chain like Swig or Sodalicious. If you mix Sprite with lemonade, add a splash of blue raspberry syrup, and drop in a gummy shark, you'll have something similar to Swig's Shark Attack; alternatively, you could blend Dr Pepper with horchata to copy Sodalicious' El Doctoro. You can always turn to TikTok, of course — the viral, two-ingredient fluffy Coke (consisting, per the name, of Coke and marshmallow fluff) is just one of numerous dirty sodas to be found on the platform.

You could also go old school with one of the OG dirty sodas, Pilk. Laverne of the '70s sitcom "Laverne and Shirley" was known to drink this beverage, although it took the invention of the internet (and TikTok) to turn Pepsi milk into a viral trend. An even older dirty soda is the New York egg cream, which isn't made from either of its eponymous ingredients. The egg cream dates back to either the late 19^th or early 20^th centuries, and it's made by combining chocolate syrup with milk and adding seltzer. Plain seltzer may be traditional, but a raspberry- or orange-flavored variety could make for a tasty, contemporary spin.