McDonald's New Drinks Are Coming For Swig's Dirty Soda Crown

Starting May 6, McDonald's is releasing six brand new beverages to all of its stores. The drinks fall under two categories: Refreshers and Crafted Sodas. These have quietly been in the works since McDonald's CosMc's testing days, where the company used the new brand as a spin-off to experiment with beverages. The Refresher line is a set of fruity, non-carbonated, and moderately caffeinated drinks, while the Crafted Sodas will all come crowned with a cold foam top. The company invited select media to try the new drinks, and since I'm located in Chicago, I headed right on over to Hamburger University to give them a shot.

While we were on-site, McDonald's brand representatives, franchise owners, and chefs explained the production process of the new line-up (you'd be surprised at how big a role trial-and-error plays). The company's clearly taking these drinks seriously because each store now has a new staff role of "Beverage Specialist," who's an existing crew member specifically tasked with managing these drinks as well as teaching other teammates how to properly execute them. But really, the most important question is, how did they taste — and are they any good?

These drinks will be ranked based on my personal preferences in acidity, sweetness, balance of flavor, and overall appeal; including added details like garnishes. I tried every one of these beverages in the same sitting, allowing my palate to clear a bit before moving on to the next drink. We were given a general guideline to enjoy each drink in a specific sequence which separated the Refresher line from the Crafted Sodas to get a sense of how different they all were.

Because this was a media preview, the event was free for The Takeout, but I used my best and most honest judgment to assess each beverage while putting these new items in the context of McDonald's greater menu. We were also given an exclusive, behind-the-scenes visit to the test kitchen where we learned to make a few of the drinks ourselves.

The new Refresher line comes in three flavors: Strawberry Watermelon, Mango Pineapple, and Blackberry Passion Fruit. Each drink comes with its own base fruit flavor and is topped off with a tart, specially-designed lemonade to balance the syrup's sweetness before they're all finished with separate garnishes. The Strawberry Watermelon features a few slices of freeze-dried strawberries, the Mango Pineapple gets strawberry popping boba, and the Blackberry Passion Fruit is topped with freeze-dried dragon fruit.

For those of you who are seeking a low-sugar option, you can request that your Refresher be made with water instead of lemonade (it's customizable via the app, kiosk, or in-person). And as I mentioned earlier, these are moderately caffeinated; a regular-sized drink has 65 milligrams of caffeine in it, while a large adds an extra 15 milligrams. (This is nowhere near Panera's former notoriously strong Charged Lemonades.) I am happy to say that these drinks are all surprisingly enjoyable, and even though I tend to avoid sugary beverages just out of habit, I have to say they're all worth getting, though I did have one clear favorite.

After tasting all three, I found myself reaching back for the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher most of all. It somehow manages to taste equally like strawberry and watermelon, depending on which flavor your palate searches for, and even though these are all syrup-based drinks (we got to make our own in the test kitchen at one point) they all taste remarkably fresh. The freeze-dried fruit slices are a nice touch, too, though they're more for show than anything else.

This isn't to say the other Refreshers are slouches, either. The Blackberry Passion Fruit has a dark, jammy note to it (this would be my second-place winner), while the Mango Pineapple leans more acidic (my last place pick). The popping boba, which is the most unique feature of all three drinks, don't really taste like a whole lot, particularly because the rest of the drink is so strongly-flavored. However, I did appreciate the novelty of the boba, which fit up McDonald's classic straws perfectly. McDonald's has used popping boba before, most recently in the limited-time KPop Demon Hunter meal's McFlurry. The Mango Pineapple is the only drink that McDonald's recommends drinking through a straw, which is interesting. I can definitely see myself drinking the strawberry-watermelon one on a hot day, though I think maybe I'd try mine made with water next time.

The reason why I've separated the rankings into two separate categories is because these two new styles of drink are simply not the same. The Crafted Sodas are all topped with cold foam, for one, and they aren't designed to pack a caffeinated zip beyond what the base sodas contain. The three flavors are Sprite Berry Blast, Orange Dream, and Dirty Dr. Pepper. The Sprite Berry Blast has that good old blue raspberry flavor added to McDonald's notoriously "crispy" Sprite, the Orange Dream is McDonald's existing Hi-C Lavaburst topped with that same foam, and Dirty Dr. Pepper is, well, Dirty Dr. Pepper. Other fast food brands like Taco Bell have already jumped on the dirty soda bandwagon, so it's not surprising McDonald's is trying to find a way to capitalize on this too.

I did clarify with the chef that these foams are non-dairy, and they're designed to linger on top a little longer than your average cold foam product before cascading downward. Something interesting the reps noted is that the lids to the cups are brand new as well. The Crafted Sodas are meant to be sipped through the lid so that you get some of the creamy top as you drink the soda portion.

While my favorite Refresher was difficult to pick, since they were all more or less enjoyable, one Crafted Soda immediately separated itself from the pack: the Orange Dream. This one, as you can imagine, evokes a Dreamsicle, the classic combination of orange and cream. It's a classic flavor combination for a reason, and even though I'd never considering adding cream to Hi-C on my own, it works way better than you'd imagine. My tasting partner from another media outlet resoundingly picked this as his favorite out of all six drinks.

I really wish I'd enjoyed the Sprite Berry Blast more since blue raspberry (a flavor that's been around since 1958) is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine, but it simply didn't click with me. I'm not entirely sure something evoking a classic blue Slurpee needs cream, though the base soda is fun in a not-super-adventurous way. My least favorite was the Dirty Dr. Pepper because the cream completely mutes Dr. Pepper's mysterious 23-flavor blend, which is kind of cherry and prune-like at the same time. The bright, tangy notes simply paired better with the cream top more than the dark soda did.

Something I considered during this process was how this would all fit into McDonald's menu. I can't quite picture myself sipping on a Crafted Soda or Refresher while housing a Big Mac; there's something about these things that don't exactly pair like a juicy red wine with steak. However, these drinks read as more of a standalone treat, anyway; something you might drop in for as part of an afternoon break rather than incorporate as part of a meal. There's just so much flavor to each drink to be able to properly enjoy it between a mouthful of McNugget and sauce.

Those earlier CosMc's test locations were heavily beverage-based, and tested which sipping novelties resonated with customers, so this could have been the plan all along. McDonald's isn't really known as a drink oasis right now, but popping your head in now and then for one of these could add to the Golden Arches' systemwide bottom line. Since I generally avoid sweet drinks (just a personal habit), I probably wouldn't be getting these drinks often, but I do have to say they are overall very appealing and could be a hit for the younger crowd. They'll be here as permanent items starting May 6, so you can judge for yourself starting from then.