Mormon housewives, TikTok, and the dazzling rise of dirty soda

If you’ve wasted any time scrolling through TikTok recently, or more specifically – and I can’t believe I’m writing this phrase – MomTok, you’ve no doubt come across the dirty soda phenomenon. Equal parts kitsch and indulgence, this strange yet mesmerising Utah-born drink is having a zeitgeisty moment, leaving some of us with a few questions. Questions like ‘What actually is this?’, ‘What the hell is half-and-half?’, and ‘Is there an alcoholic version?’.

Elaborately constructed and American as all hell, dirty soda is basically a pimped-up non-alcoholic soft drink on steroids. These fanciful creations typically start with a ‘base soda’ (think Diet Coke or Dr Pepper), then get ‘dirtied up’ with a slew of ingredients – stuff like coconut creamer, half-and-half (equal parts thickened cream and full cream milk), vanilla syrups, fruit purees, and fresh citrus juice – and come served on crushed ice. It’s all a bit choose-your-own-adventure, so the options are practically limitless. However, the key elements typically include soda, cream, flavoured syrup and citrus.

Nobody can say for sure where dirty soda came from, but the first major rumblings can be traced back to 2010 when the first dedicated dirty soda shop, Swig, launched in Saint George, Utah. It wasn’t long before other shops like Sodalicious and Fiiz Soda built on the trend, solidifying Utah as the cultural capital of this fizzy phenomenon.

So, what about the Mormon housewives, then? Okay, deep breath. If you know anything about Utah, you’ll know it’s home to the world’s biggest Latter-day Saints (AKA Mormons) community. Alcohol and hot drinks (i.e. coffee and tea) are sacrilege, according to The Church, which goes some way to explaining the cultural salience of dirty soda within the region, as evidenced in frequent cameos on hit reality TV show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (if you haven’t watched it yet, get on it).

Sandwiched between plotlines that almost invariably focus on the polygamous aspects of Mormon life, shops like Swig and Sodalicious are a regular setting for the show’s cast, whose quirky observations (like “I just need my Mormon crack”) have helped dirty soda go seriously viral on TikTok. The craze reached fever-pitch in 2022 when Olivia Rodrigo posted herself with a Swig cup, bringing dirty soda well into the mainstream consciousness and spawning millions of #dirtysoda recipe videos in her wake.

Now that you’re up to speed on the, honestly, kinda bizarre history of dirty soda, you might be wondering if it even actually tastes good. Well, yes and no. Because there are so many different ways to build a dirty soda, it really all comes down to what you like. With a bit of thoughtful flavour-matching, we’ll go ahead and say that you can land on plenty of legitimately delicious dirty soda recipes.

And what about alcoholic versions? We’re so glad you asked! It’s literally as simple as adding a shot of base spirit into the mix. Feeling tropical? Try white rum with ginger ale, coconut creamer, passionfruit syrup and fresh lime juice. After something with a deeper flavour profile? Mix vodka with Dr Pepper, half-and-half, hazelnut syrup and a dash of lemon to cut through the sweetness. It’ll probably look gross, but so do plenty of delicious drinks. And if you get stuck, follow our basic dirty soda recipe template below.

If you’ve come this far with a raised eyebrow, wondering why America (and TikTok) has gone wild for dirty soda, here’s our take: it’s not supposed to be sophisticated. Dirty soda embodies pure, unapologetic sweetness. It’s bright, bubbly, over-the-top, and, at its best, totally delicious. Think of it as a hybrid between dessert and drink – an almost retro throwback to the heyday of soda fountains, yet strangely perfect for modern summer hangouts. 

Love it or side-eye it, dirty soda is officially part of the cultural beverage lexicon – a summery, slightly strange and delightfully fizzy trend that’s worth the curiosity. Cheers to keeping it dirty!