While the name “dirty soda” might imply an alcoholic pop, it is in fact the opposite. Consisting of regular soda, flavoured syrups and cream, the concept originated in Utah with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) community a decade ago, with the traditional recipe being Diet Coke with coconut, cream and lime.
Over the last year they’ve soared in popularity thanks to Hulu’s viral reality television show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The show follows a group of Mormon mom influencers, who also indulge in dirty sodas — one mom even refers to it as “Mormon crack.”
With various dirty soda joints like Swig spreading across the U.S., it was just a matter of time before the trend made its way up north. Sip Soda Co, which began with a mobile trailer in May 2024 at the Grande Prairie Stampede, has opened its first brick and mortar location in Sherwood Park.
Owner and founder Jeremy Guenette says he was inspired after a trip to Idaho a few years ago. “I pulled into a parking lot and I looked at two (soda) trucks,” he recalls. “I just saw people coming and going. I had to go see what it was. When I looked at the menu and I tried my first soda, I was just floored. It was so good.
The Sherwood Park shop’s menu has 61 combinations of soda — from lavender and grape-flavoured 7UP, to a butterscotch-root beer fusion — conjured up by Guenette, his wife and their five kids over a fun long weekend. They designed every recipe and name.
Each kind of soda (Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew, 7UP, etc) has various flavour combinations, fit with syrups, fruit and even gummies. Or if you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own by choosing your base soda and adding whatever you’d like.
Many of the names are odes to Canadian lore — Wheat Kings (like the Tragically Hip song), McFloatin’ and Dirty Drumheller. But another personable touch are the names that are unique to Guenette and his family. “There’s lots of stuff about my family, like Kennedy Kleenup and Hurricane Kennedy.”
On my visit I ordered the Starting Lineup — Dr Pepper with cream, flavoured with vanilla, coconut and a fresh-squeezed lime. A sweet, yet refreshing combination, this drink felt like it should be enjoyed on a tropical beach somewhere.
Dirty sodas are slowly making their way up north. Edmonton’s very own Druids Dirty Soda Bar is a mobile business that opened mid-2024, and similarly mixes and crafts their own soda combinations. And now with Sip, they have plans to franchise, hoping to expand dirty soda shops across the country. The increasingly popular drink is ramping up in demand — hopefully, it’s here to stay.
Sip Soda Co.
Sherwood Park | 975 Broadmoor Blvd, Unit #10 | 587.269.5199 | sipsoda.ca
