If you’ve been obsessing over all the dirty sodas taking over your feed recently, you’re not alone. This trend is going viral for a reason—probably because it’s totally delish (hello, who doesn’t love a refreshing soda drink mixed with yummy syrups and add-ons?). Wanna impress your besties at your next sleepover/b-day bash/grad party? We’ve got the how-to.
Snag your supplies
First, you’ll need cups to hold your drinks. While classic Solo cups will do, we recommend taking it up a notch with patterned cups (pastel stripes = super cute and summery), Mason jars or even mismatched glasses (it’ll give your dirty soda bar a curated aesthetic). You should also grab some ice to keep your drinks cool, plus some paper straws for sipping.
After you get the must-haves down, you can make your soda bar extra fun by snagging some cute decor. Try DIYing a cute sign on Canva (simply print and pop it in a picture frame) to set up at your stand, or even finding a matching tablecloth.
Pick your ingredients
You’ll need some base sodas (we recommend Dr. Pepper, Sprite and Coke). The easiest way to get delish flavors in seconds is to use pre-made syrups, like Torani or Monin. These come in *so* many flavors, which means you get to be a lot more creative with your drinks. You can also use vanilla coffee creamer or coconut milk.
Once you’ve chosen your basic flavors, set out some extra toppings for your guests’ dirty sodas. We heart adding a little cold foam or whipped cream to our sweeter combos or a citrus wedge on the side of the cup for fruitier flavors.
Curate your menu
Some guests get extra creative with their dirty soda creations, but others have a little more trouble coming up with yummy drinks of their own. Help out any guests at risk of a plain soda by planning out a pre-made menu of ideas. Once your brainstorming’s all done, copy and paste onto a cute Canva template, print out and you’re done. Stuck on inspo yourself? Peep some of our fave flavor options down below:
Orange Dreamsicle: Mix up a Fanta, a few pumps of vanilla syrup and some tasty creamer. Top it off with a bit of cold foam.
Blueberry Cobbler: One Sprite, three pumps of blueberry syrup, one and a half pumps of vanilla and a little creamer equals one extra yummy blueberry drink.
Coconut Dr. Pepper: Give instant beach cabana vibes with this drink by adding a few pumps of coconut syrup and some coconut-flavored creamer to your classic Dr. Pepper.
Strawberry Shortcake: To recreate our fave dessert, start with a simple Dr. Pepper mixed with strawberry syrup, then add vanilla creamer and top with whipped cream. Insta-worthy *and* delish.
Put it all together
Our fave part of any dirty soda bar? The setup, natch. Now that you have all your ingredients and supplies ready, it’s time to arrange them (in the cutest way possible). If you have one, start by setting out all your sodas on tiered trays. (No tray? No problem. You can also lay your drinks out on the table or keep them in an ice chest.) Next, line each syrup up next to your sodas and, ofc, remember to put out all the cups, straws and creamers you’ll be using throughout the bash. Try to organize your soda bar kinda like an assembly line so that, as a guest walks from left to right, they’ll grab their cups, then their straws, then their sodas, etc.
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Images: @fizzymamasoda, @mainstreetfizz, @shakeitclassy,
