Viral ‘dirty soda’ trend bubbling into Saskatchewan

Fruzsina De Cloedt has more on how the "dirty soda" tend is gaining popularity in the province.

“Dirty soda,” the viral sensation made famous by a reality television series in the U.S., is quickly gaining a foothold in the land of the living skies.

“They became popular because of the show ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,’” explained Shelley Patterson, who owns Dessart Sweets in Regina. “They can’t drink alcohol. So, they have their dirty sodas.”

Following the show’s premiere last fall, it didn’t take long for the drink to spread out from Utah.

Patterson said she first offered it during an arts fair in May. “I could hear people walking by my table and being like, ‘Oh, that’s just like in the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

Soon after, her child’s friend mentioned just how delicious these drinks are. That’s when she decided to add it to her permanent menu in Regina.

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Her story already hints that dirty sodas are popular with the younger generation. A few hours east of Regina in Moosomin, the young co-owner of Trends Mercantile told CTV News the same.

“I think we were so excited to bring it in because like, we kind of think that now with the 25-year-old and under crowd, coffee’s kind of out,” explained Gwen Grant, who runs Trends Mercantile with her sister, Cara.

“It’s a vendor collective, so we have a little bit of local artisans and people that love to make things, and we love to showcase them,” Cara said, as she explained the concept of their space. “And then [there’s] coffee and some dirty sodas and, you know, [it’s] definitely a sip and shop kind of place.”

The sisters said they also learnt about dirt sodas from the reality show but the idea to sell them wasn’t until they came across a vendor in Okotoks, Alberta. They liked the drink for its wide variety of flavouring and its inclusive nature.

“If your providers [are] doing it right, there’s diet pop and diet syrup options, [so] diabetics can get a soda or lactose free people can get a dirty soda,” Cara said, while explaining what makes the soda different from others.

“You start with soda, or we have Alani as well, and Red Bell sodas as well,” Patterson revealed. “And you add syrups and/or cream to them.”

The result is a creamy, fizzy concoction. While it’s certainly a refreshing drink in the summer, it can also be made with seasonal trends in mind. For example, Patterson is about to offer a Harry Potter-inspired butterbeer dirty soda for Halloween.

“This is something that is so fun and there’s so many combinations that we can do, that we’ll do seasonal ones and we’ll have them year-round,” she noted.

In both locations, the most popular flavours are made with Dr. Pepper.

“Probably the Doctor P’s recipe: Dr Pepper, grenadine, and then we use true lime packages,” Patterson explained.

“Our most popular flavor is definitely the OG. So, it’s going to be coconut, vanilla, and cream in Dr Pepper,” Grant added.

For those looking to try this new drink, more and more options are available in both flavor and location-wise.

“We can make any flavor,” Patterson said with a smile. “We make people’s dreams come true.”