In Salt Lake City, where I live, you’ll find shot glasses and stickers in tourist shops with the sage warning: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you might be in Utah.” It’s a self-deprecating nod to the perception that our local food culture is nonexistent. But recently, Utah has snagged a curious spot on the U.S. culinary map. New Mexico has Hatch chiles, New York claims bagels, and Maine is all about the lobster rolls. Here? Well, we’ve got dirty soda.
The formula is simple: Fountain drinks like Mountain Dew, Coke, and Dr. Pepper are spiked with flavored syrups, fruit purées, and coconut cream or half-and-half. A TikTok darling in 2022, this Utah-born concoction has recently bubbled back into the national consciousness thanks to “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The Hulu series follows a gaggle of mom-influencers juggling family, faith, and a sex scandal — all while sipping gallons of dirty soda. And somewhere between the religious fetishization and pop culture fervor, this thoroughly Utahn “vice” has sparked a thriving business model.
The Dirty Soda Boom
The story starts with Swig, a drive-through shack that opened in 2010 in St. George, about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, which sold ice cream, cookies, and dirty soda. Though creamy, bubbly drinks like Indian-Pakistani doodh soda, Korean Milkis, and floats have existed for centuries, the “original” dirty soda recipe was allegedly a mix of Diet Coke, coconut syrup, lime, and half-and-half. At the time, the drink filled a major
