Sonic Will Roll Out Pickle Juice Slushes This Summer
While the popularity of pickle-juice-as-beverage has surged in recent years—with pickle back shots now ubiquitous in Brooklyn bars, and a pickle sports drink hitting the national market—we wouldn’t have predicted that the tangy, herbaceous brine would end up starring in a drink at one of the country’s top quick-service chains, but then again, this is the year Taco Bell launched nacho fries, so evidently no item is too extreme.
This June, Sonic will unveil a pickle juice snow cone slush, according to Sonic representatives. And the drink is exactly what it sounds like: a sweet slush flavored with pickle juice. As could be expected, the beverage is bright green—in a way no brine of pickles ever has been—but this is Sonic, so everything should be a little fluorescent and playful.
We tasted the drink at Sonic’s headquarters in Oklahoma City, and it’s surprisingly delicious (and makes a good accompaniment to burgers and/or tots and/or corn dogs.) Sweet and tangy, the bright brine compensates for the over-savoriness you might have been worried about. You won’t understand why, but you’ll keep going back for more sips, likely until it’s all gone. Our only gripe is that the slush is a bit too sweet, as if overcorrecting for the acidity, but maybe this is what has to happen for America to acclimate to—and embrace—pickle-flavored soft drink.
As a member of the Sonic team tells Food & Wine, you can add the syrup to anything, once it’s officially rolled out. No one can stop you for asking for a squirt of pickle juice in your shake, or on your burger, or on whatever your sick heart desires. (One of Sonic’s best features is offering customers the ability to customize beverage and menu items.) Though the Sonic rep makes sure to point out, she can’t control what they’ll charge you for that extra pickle squirt on your sundae—it’s up to each individual franchise. Fair.
The snow cone slush line of drinks, including the pickle one, are slated to roll out at Sonics nationwide in June.
