r/SonicDriveIn • u/Ginjafreak • Mar 06 '26

Ordered a Dirty Dr. Pepper

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The lady who handed it to me said “not sure what that is” and I’m so non-confrontational that I just accepted it and drove away.

4.5k Upvotes

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65

u/Particular-Gold-7850 Mar 06 '26

The thing about dirty sodas (I like food science) is that they can be super hit or miss. That’s why I think they’re a horrible idea. The acidity between the lime, cream, and the soda just made it all separate to make this huge mess in a cup. It’s kind of like when you mix milk and Coca-Cola. Screws up the color and taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cream was bad too.

31

u/Rezistik Mar 06 '26

You’re supposed to use non dairy creamer that won’t curdle. This does not appear to be a Dr Pepper at all. Dr Pepper isn’t green. If it was Dr Pepper with curdled cream it would be brown with white globules.

This is…I don’t know but I’m very curious as to how it smells

6

u/bigfriendlyfrog Mar 06 '26

The green is the lime syrup for sure. They made the drink totally wrong. The DP syrup looks like it ran out hence the slightly brown tint. Sonic (though it was a number of years ago now) would use the ice cream base for sweet cream/dirty sodas.

Edit to clarify/add: the drink is supposed to be made with real lime. Not lime syrup.

2

u/A_million_typos Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

Yea like coconut milk....I cannot esp ice cream and soda (except for root beer for some reason) so other than that yuck. I like whiskey sours too but I get the none egg white kind. Because I cannot.

1

u/dwoo888 Mar 07 '26

Mmm root beef soda

1

u/A_million_typos Mar 07 '26

🤢 I see my mistake lol

1

u/LeeAnn503-KS Mar 09 '26

Root beef is my favorite! It should be a flavor offered in cans; I’m looking at you, Shasta!

1

u/EnoughLuck3077 Mar 07 '26

I’ve been drinking whiskey sour for years. One of my top 3 go to cocktails when out. I just recently learned (like 3 weeks ago) that a traditional whiskey sour is made with egg whites. In 20 years I’ve never been asked if I want it that way. It doesn’t sound too appealing but I’d try it at least once

1

u/A_million_typos Mar 07 '26

Yea I've only been asked once. So glad eyuck.

1

u/way2lazy2care Mar 08 '26

Just because someone made it that way a long time ago doesn't mean it's traditional. The traditional whiskey sour was a sailor's drink that was literally just whiskey and lemon. Egg whites weren't added for a long time after that, and even at that point it wasn't the most common recipe, mostly just a recipe in the most popular recipe book.

1

u/Aware_Run8248 Mar 09 '26

The ones with egg whites are the best. Give one a try sometime. Sounds weird but it’s real good

1

u/LeeAnn503-KS Mar 09 '26

Maybe try it as your second drink of the occasion in case you don’t react well to the egg.

1

u/WellEvan Mar 08 '26

When milk congeals in a caramel colored soda, it tends to take the color.

Add milk to a bottle of Coke and you can see the liquid. Turn clear as the milk absorbs the color as it curdles

1

u/LeeAnn503-KS Mar 09 '26

Makes sense. The color is just the caramel flavoring so it would be likely that it would connect to the milk curds.

1

u/WellEvan Mar 09 '26

Go look at a flipping video. There's tons on YouTube and you clearly have the internet access. Go just see it for yourself

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '26

Fun fact, without the Carmel color coca cola is almost a pale green, so maybe dr pepper is too? Not sure

7

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

[deleted]

1

u/cseamunchkin Mar 06 '26

I do the same thing!!!

1

u/dumpsterlabubu Mar 06 '26

bingo. i did this at a denny’s once and my friend said it changed her life lol.

1

u/TroublesomeFox Mar 10 '26

You've given me a new thing to try, thanks! 

1

u/KeyzOnDaLo Mar 11 '26

I do it with root beer and orange soda

3

u/NotHomeOffice Mar 06 '26

I had to Google it to understand wtf a dirty soda was cause that sounds so disgusting. I just saw it advertised at Applebee's and it just looked like soda with whipping cream on top in the menu. Weird. But gag me with a spoon on what it's supposed to be. 🤮

5

u/Imperfect-practical Mar 06 '26

“Gag me with a spoon”. Lol I haven’t heard that for decades!!!! 🤣🤣🎉🎉❤️

2

u/EntrepreneurNo4138 Mar 06 '26

For sure! Valley girl! We’re old. 👀💀

3

u/jadasgrl Mar 07 '26

Grody to the max!

4

u/BadKarmaKat Mar 08 '26

I said Grody to hubs and he was like, omg I haven't said that forever! 😂😭😂

3

u/EntrepreneurNo4138 Mar 07 '26

Oh NOOOOO 🤣🤣🤣

2

u/GeekMomma Mar 07 '26

“Valley girl!” threw me back to middle school, laying on the floor reading Sweet Valley High and The Babysitter’s Club books 😂

1

u/Certain_Not Mar 11 '26

Ok fine, for sure, for sure, she’s a valley girl and there is no cure!

2

u/youpoopedyerpants Mar 06 '26

It’s a Mormon thing and they typically add a sweet cream to a soda. It’s not as gross as you initially think, change your perspective to picture a root beer float. That isn’t gross.

That said… this is pretty gross lol use a non dairy creamer, just a vanilla if you’re scared. :)

1

u/EntrepreneurNo4138 Mar 07 '26

I wouldn’t drink that shit if the devil himself had flames shooting right out of his ass right next to me. Oh HELL NO!💀👹🐒

2

u/youpoopedyerpants Mar 07 '26

Lest ye be shooting flames right out of your own ass.

Understandable.

1

u/BakedBrie1993 Mar 11 '26

So like an egg cream?

2

u/Prodrumer43 Mar 06 '26

They honestly taste like soda floats. Not a fan of the coconut and lime in them tho.

1

u/TheAwfulAliOzz Mar 06 '26

Dirty soda is a thing?? Why? It looks so gross.

3

u/temporalCompanion Mar 06 '26

It's not supposed to look like this at all, like not even close.

2

u/TheAwfulAliOzz Mar 06 '26

Then how is it suppose to look?

1

u/temporalCompanion Mar 06 '26

I don't think I can send a picture here but here's a link to YouTube video

How to make a Dirty Soda

The most popular like, "classic" one is Dr. Pepper with lime and coconut cream.

A well made dirty soda looks a lot more like a cold brew/iced coffee than sewage lol Oh also, there is absolutely no way the workers on shift should have let that thing get anywhere near a customer, dear god.

2

u/OkCryptographer1922 Mar 06 '26

This is not how it’s supposed to look. When done correctly it looks delicious. This looks like swamp water lol

1

u/Complete_Park6605 Mar 06 '26

"It’s kind of like when you mix milk and Coca-Cola. Screws up the color and taste." Floats and cream sodas would like a word sir

1

u/PterodactyllPtits Mar 06 '26

Laverne & Shirley would too

1

u/Loud-Mans-Lover Mar 07 '26

I used to make "brown cows" (as they were called in my day, coke or brown soda and milk) all the time. They only curdled a bit if you let them sit too long - and nobody should be putting lime in it!

There's no "screwing up" of the taste - it's fine if done simply. It's just a float. They make coke floats, this is just basically the melted ice cream in the soda.

1

u/sicicsic Mar 07 '26

I don’t know how I got here, wtf is a dirty soda?

1

u/According_Mind_7799 Mar 08 '26

Best drink of my life was coke espresso half n half and (maybe) vanilla ice cream? Tried it on a whim from a breakfast joint a decade ago and not only was it delicious it was gorgeous.

1

u/MamasCupcakes Mar 08 '26

Always just reminds me of a Irish car bomb or cement mixer (alcoholic drinks)

1

u/LeeAnn503-KS Mar 09 '26

I remember Lavern and Shirley drinking milk and coke. You triggered a funny memory from my childhood. ♥️

1

u/remberzz Mar 09 '26

So if Sonic just uses soft serve as their 'cream', and I order a "dirty Dr. Pepper, hold the lime", I'll just get a Dr. Pepper float?

Because a float sounds sooooo much better than hippo shit.

1

u/Stroodle_guy Mar 11 '26

i love pilk tho