If there is one thing I was not expecting on a Tuesday sitting at school, it was to see my phone light up with the familiar red and yellow McDonald’s logo announcing a brand-new line of drinks. Instead of another meal deal or a new burger, McDonald’s had decided to release a collection of drinks ranging from refreshers to dirty sodas. Knowing me, I normally would immediately get out of my chair and go to try them, but honestly, none of them looked that interesting at first. Most of the drinks seemed like random combinations that I would only waste my money buying and not like them.
That changed a few days later when I started seeing some of my friends try one of the new drinks: the Dirty Dr Pepper. People online were calling it one of the best drinks McDonald’s had released in years, which I thought was promising since I already like Dr Pepper on its own. At the same time, though, I was confused about how adding creamer and cold foam to soda could taste good.
Before trying it, my only experience with dirty sodas came from videos of people from Utah pouring creamers, syrups, and flavored foams into perfectly normal sodas. Most of the time, it looked disgusting. I never understood why someone would ruin a perfectly good Dr. Pepper by pouring creamers and sugars into it. To me, soda and creamer just did not sound like they belonged together. Still, after seeing people I actually knew try McDonald’s version and surprisingly enjoy it, it was my final straw, and I finally decided to try the drink.
I originally expected the drink to be good because of how many people seemed to love it, but the first thing I noticed was how disgusting the cold foam looked. I expected it to taste sweet and creamy, almost like vanilla ice cream on top of soda, but instead it tasted strange and artificial. Honestly, the foam was probably the worst part of the drink. My first sip almost made me regret ordering it because the flavor reminded me more of chemicals than vanilla.
Once I got past the cold foam, though, the actual drink underneath was surprisingly decent. The creamer mixed with the Dr Pepper made the soda taste smoother and sweeter without completely overpowering the original flavor. It almost tasted like an entirely different drink compared to regular Dr Pepper. Usually, I do not enjoy super-sweet carbonated drinks because they can become too much after a few sips, but this one was balanced enough for me to finish the entire thing. The sweetness was noticeable, but not to the point where it became too much to handle.
What surprised me most was how the drink somehow worked, even though it sounded like it should not. Reading what was inside the drink before trying it made me think that I would hate the drink entirely. But after drinking it myself, I could at least understand why so many people online were talking about it. It is different from the usual drinks McDonald’s releases, and that alone probably makes people more interested in it.
At the same time, I still think the drink is a little overhyped. The Dirty Dr Pepper is not bad at all, but it is also not a life-changing drink that will make people come back every day for one. It feels more like the type of drink you try once because you are curious, while it will never become your new favorite order.
After trying it for myself, my opinion stays pretty neutral. I would give the drink a solid seven out of ten. If you are somebody who hates sweet drinks or does not like weird flavor combinations, then this is probably not the drink for you. But if you enjoy trying new things, then the Dirty Dr. Pepper is definitely worth trying at least once. Even if you end up not liking it, at least you can say you tried it before McDonald’s inevitably removes it from the menu, as they do with the majority of their “fun drinks.”
