You’ve probably heard about the latest taste “sensation” sweeping America: Sonic Drive-In’s dill pickle juice snow-cone slushie.

It’s a special summer seasonal promotion, meaning it probably won’t be something you can order around, say, Thanksgiving. And based on the few reviews I’ve read on it, you might be thankful for that by the time it’s gone.

Now this chain restaurant has been known to go overboard on the slush flavors menu. Be mindful they’ve brought us in the past such mouth-watering taste delights such as: Banana Taffy, Cotton Candy, Jelly Bean, Sour Green Apple, Atomic Lemon, Super Peach, Blue Coconut, and even a Powerade flavor.

They aren’t even letting Pickle Juice float out there on its own. Sonic is pairing it with another flavorful and felicitous frozen delight: Tiger’s Blood.

Yum.

Sonic calls itself “America’s Drive-In,” So I figured that if I sample the wares and find them unsatisfactory, would that mean I’m ‘un-American”? I’m not sure I wanted to take that chance.

A little background here: about a dozen years ago I was at an 8-man football game at Northeast Academy up in Northampton County in late August. This was a late evening-night game, but the players still had to endure brutal weather, with a heat index that had to be nearing the 100-degree mark.

Some of these kids – heck, most of them – were playing both ways on offense and defense. Yet, these Eagles players were bearing up well under the monster humidity, and at times when I gazed at the bench around midway through the second quarter, to me they actually looked, well, refreshed. When I asked one of their coaches what the secret was, there was no hesitation in his reply.

Pickle juice.

Yes, that briny, brackish fluid actually has some potent value and health benefits.

A quick check at the website healthline.com reveals that the vinegary-soaked cucumber is actually good for, among other things: soothing muscle cramps, aiding in hydration when dealing with severe heat, supporting weight loss, helping control blood sugar levels, and boosting a healthy gut.

But what the website didn’t say it does is … ?

Taste good.

According to one brave soul who’s tried the frozen concoction, it has an in-between taste.

“It gives you the essences of a pickle but imagine if you had the taste of a lime to go with it,” she said. “It starts out sour and then gets sweet; kind of hitting you with that sweetness.”

She also left me with this coda.

“I’m betting you that pregnant women will love it,” she declared.

Okay, guys, remember that part when you take mama to the drive in, especially if she is great with child.

The aroma, from what I’ve heard, is just like the smell of a pickle jar.

Sonic does have one incentive that I like: they’re half-price after 8 p.m. I might even pair it with Tiger’s Blood in a ‘two-fer’ in case I’m not completely taken with the green stuff.

I’ll close with a suggestion for Sonic that might get them out of a ‘pickle’ just in case this craze actually – God forbid! – catches on. If pickle juice slushes are a hit with America, please, please don’t surprise us with more exotic favors next summer. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be spending a lot more time in the test lab trying to come up with the taste of pickled pig-feet; and don’t make Penrose sausage the next-best alternative.

 

Gene Motley is a Staff Writer at Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at gene.motley@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7211.