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I Tried All 6 Of McDonald's New Dirty Sodas And Refreshers — Here's What To Order
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One of these might ruin regular soda for you forever. Emily has been in the food and beverage industry for over a decade. From left to right in the above photo, we have the following (note that prices might vary depending on your location): • Blackberry Passion Fruit Refresher ($4.19–$4.99) • Mango Pineapple Refresher ($4.19–$4.99) • Strawberry Watermelon Refresher ($4.19–$4.99) I'm not interested in "dirty juice," McDonald's. Fizz is a prerequisite here, right? I can give it some brownie points for exhibiting moderate creamsicle vibes, and it definitely tastes like Hi-C, but on the whole, I'd pass on this one. Right off the bat, its flavor evoked plenty of nostalgia; had I closed my eyes, I could have been convinced I was drinking a Blue Raspberry Icee from 7-Eleven with a creamy twist. The cream gave the soda a thick mouthfeel, but it was still plenty fizzy, and the flavor was off the charts. I'm not even typically a fan of the soda, but this? It's beckoning to me like a sailor-summoning siren. And no, I'm not being dramatic. The cream makes the soda irresistibly warm and mellows out the carbonation a little, giving the drink a really thick body. Yet, it's still undeniably Dr Pepper. It just had a vague, unidentifiable tropicality. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't giving everything I wanted it to give. Moreover, the strawberry boba pearls at the bottom did no heavy lifting, given the sipper-style lid. I can't say I got any watermelon from this drink, but I was pretty fine with that — the strawberry came through enough to be satisfying, even if it was a bit gentle and slightly watery. As far as the strawberry slices on top, they did nothing for me, as they were too big to fit through the sipper-style lid. This was the punchiest of the bunch, but I think that's just because the flavors of this drink are generally stronger than the flavors of the other two. I'm also torn on whether I like the floating bits of dragon fruit on top. They didn't really add anything, save for a so-so stringy fruit texture. I can definitely say I felt "refreshed" after drinking this, though.