Audrey Garcia

On March 1, I drove to Swig around 4 p.m. with a couple of friends. Swigs’ location is on Anderson Mill Road, near Highway 183, which is only 14 minutes away from where I live. I decided to get the “Raspberry dream” Drink which consists of a base of Dr. Pepper, mixed with raspberry puree and coconut cream, and is known for its creamy, sweet, and tropical flavor.

On Feb. 13, a drive-thru dirty soda shop had its grand opening in North Austin, following a soft opening in late January. Swig, being one of the most viral dirty soda franchises, has become the new obsession for people all over the Cedar Park area, myself included.

For background context, Swig was founded in 2010 by Nicole Tanner, a Mormon mother of five who started the business as a means to fill a gap in the community. She opened the first location in Saint George, Utah, across from Dixie State University. Eventually, the company blew up and started moving to other states. As of late 2025, there are 31 open Swig locations across Texas and continues to expand into cities like Austin, Hutto and Waco.

Though there are other dirty soda choices out there, Swig is the original, and it has been around much longer than most other companies. I had never even heard of dirty soda until about a few weeks ago, after hearing some of my teammates talking about it. I’ve only ever had mixtures of Dr. Pepper and Coke with creamers, but there is a wide variety of choices that I haven’t even dreamed of. Some dirty sodas use a base of Sprite, with ingredients such as strawberry, coconut, blackberry and vanilla syrups. Sweet cream and half-and-half are also commonly used sweeteners.

I am very much a coffee person, and clearly Cedar Park is as well, with the hundreds of Starbucks locations around every corner. We also have Mojo’s Coffee and Summer Moon Coffee very close by, which were the top drink spots until Swig came along. One of my biggest pet peeves is how much coffee costs and the fact that I have to spend $10 just for one drink. While at Swig, sodas cost no more than $4, averaging around $2.50 for a 24-ounce cup.

I know Swig is for sure drawing students in, especially the unemployed. Students want to work somewhere new and exciting, and somewhere where they can enjoy the delightful drinks as well. The only flaw to this is that Swig is placed right in the middle of random convenience stores on Anderson Mill. It’s weird how they couldn’t find any better locations, considering it’s right in the most unrefined part of North Austin. What I do like about it is that it still managed to put in a drive-thru, so I can go in and out without a whole lot of problems. The real problem is getting back onto Anderson Mill, which is right next to a highway with heavy traffic. Either way, I think it’s still worth it since you are getting more bang for your buck.

The menu is both the most overstimulating and coolest thing you’ve ever seen. When I went, I decided to get the “Dirty Little Secret” drink because of the Dr. Pepper base with coconut and pineapple syrups and vanilla cream, and I like the song. Some other drinks on their menu are the “Spring Fling”, which is Dr. Pepper with vanilla, strawberry puree and coconut cream, and the “Cherry Bomb”, which is Pepsi with cherry, coconut and vanilla cream. There are other varieties of drinks with bases of Mountain Dew and lemonade as well.
All in all, I think Swig is such a fun drink place, and I know other students can agree, with its great customer service and sweet environment, even with the chaos of its location. If you are looking to try something other than coffee and refreshers, I would definitely recommend Swig as your new diamond in the rough.