Heavy Soda Is The Midwest's Answer To Watery Fountain Drinks

There's no doubt about it — we're a nation of soda drinkers. We can't help it — when you're thirsty, carbonated drinks just taste so good. But when your soda has been sitting in its pool of melting ice for too long, the ultra-watered-down sip that results is anything but refreshing. The Midwest has come up with an answer for watery fountain drinks, though. It's called heavy soda, and, basically, it's pop with a syrup overload.

Regional soda trends are nothing new. For instance, we have the Mormonism culture in Utah to thank for the innovation of dirty soda. The advent of heavy soda is credited to the state of Missouri. Specifically, it's reported to be found at gas stations in various counties within the state. The stores that offer it are upping the ante and increasing the carbonated-water-to-soda-syrup ratios in their beverage fountains, producing the highly sugary, ultra-flavored phenomenon that has become known as heavy soda. Reddit users report seeing the offering in Iron, Jefferson, and St. Francois counties in Missouri. One service station in Farmington, Missouri, called C-Barn, offers heavy Pepsi, heavy Mountain Dew, and heavy Dr. Pepper, which are described as having higher syrup concentrations for enhanced flavor.

If you're traveling through Missouri, you can easily spot the presence of a soda machine containing the heavy soda offering. The corresponding dispenser button on the soda fountain will be accordingly affixed with a "heavy" label to indicate the mother lode of syrup is to be found at that spigot.

Amping up soda fountain offerings in this way isn't a new thing. The premise of upping the syrup content in pop is what makes Coke taste better at McDonald's, as the burger chain similarly turns up the juice (er, syrup) in its soda fountains. The reason Mickey D's increases its soda syrup is to account for ice melt, so customers don't get watery leavings at the bottoms of their cups. It's not clear whether that plays a factor in Missouri's heavy soda offerings. A Facebook post from C-Barn only mentions the amplified richness and sweetness one gets with a heavy soda, not whether the practice was designed to combat the watery effect of melting ice.

But whether or not that's the intended result, it definitely does make a difference to have a higher concentration of soda syrup in a drink that's been sitting for hours. Essentially, when it's heavy soda that you have in your cup, ice meltage with the passage of time will result in a beverage that just tastes like regular soda, rather than tasting like a cup of water that only has the hint of pop flavor remaining.

But buyer beware. Social media commenters say they can't stand to drink regular soda now that they've had a taste of the syrup overload goodness. So, if you happen upon a Missouri service station offering the "heavy" option, proceed with caution — it may ruin your taste for regular soda forever.