Drive through almost any small town in Snohomish County, Washington, and you’ll spot a tiny coffee stand with a line of cars beside it. You can order a latte if you like. But plenty of the drivers ahead of you are getting something brighter: a fizzy energy drink mixed with fruit syrup, puree, or even creamer. It’s called a Red Bull Italian soda, and after two decades as a local favorite, it’s now all over your social feeds.
- Washington coffee stands have served Red Bull Italian sodas for more than 20 years, and some sell more energy drinks than coffee.
- Social media helped take the colorful, layered drinks national around 2019 and 2020, and McDonald’s joined in this summer.
- You can make one at home with an energy drink, flavored syrup, and a splash of cream, juice, or lemonade.
A Pacific Northwest Staple Since the Early 2000s
Snoho Mojo in Snohomish has been open since 2002. Its manager, Brenda Ortiz, once lived a few houses down, and she remembers Red Bull Italian sodas being on the menu from the start. She began making them herself at coffee stands in 2008.
These stands still sell coffee, but energy drinks are their bread and butter. Snoho Mojo sells about two Energy Spritzers for every coffee. Tristin Rau, who owns Burlesque Brew in Kennewick, says energy drinks are her top seller too. Some of her regulars come by every day, and a few come twice. Ortiz sees the same routine at her stand. People grab coffee in the morning and come back in the afternoon for a Lotus energy drink. In her experience, getting a drink is just part of daily life there, whether people are meeting friends or heading to work or the store.
What Goes Into the Cup
The original recipe was Red Bull, a flavored syrup, cream, and a whipped cream topping. Over time, customers started changing it up. Some dropped the cream for coconut milk. Others topped their drinks with orange juice or mixed in lemonade. According to Ortiz, there aren’t really any rules anymore.
The name kept changing too. Some people call it a Dirty Red Bull, after the dirty soda trend. Many stands use the broader name Energy Spritzer because they pour Lotus instead of Red Bull. Lotus launched in 2007 and is mostly sold as a concentrate in big jugs, in lots of colors and flavors. Baristas add club soda for the fizz. At Snoho Mojo, Lotus drinks now outsell the Red Bull versions. Ortiz thinks that’s because Lotus says its caffeine comes from natural sources.
How TikTok Took It National
Color is a big part of the appeal. Rau says the drinks can be layered in bright shades and look great on camera. Burlesque Brew’s best seller, Feeling Flirty, mixes the customer’s choice of Red Bull or Lotus with strawberry vanilla syrup, strawberry puree, and orange juice. The result fades from red to orange. At Snoho Mojo, the favorite, especially during football season, is the Seahawk. It uses green apple and blue raspberry syrups to match the Seattle team’s colors.
Rau says the drinks really took off around 2019 and 2020. Once she started posting them, Burlesque Brew’s TikTok passed a million followers. The dirty soda craze pushed things even further. Social media now brings out-of-state visitors to Snoho Mojo, which sits in the Snohomish Inn parking lot. Ortiz says some of them have only seen coffee stands online because there aren’t any where they live.
Today you’ll find these drinks from Los Angeles to Tennessee. Dutch Bros and 7 Brew have spread Energy Spritzers to most states, and this summer McDonald’s rolled out the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer.
Build a Colorful Energy Spritzer at Home
You don’t need a drive-thru window to try one. Fill a glass with ice, add a little flavored syrup, and pour in a chilled energy drink. Then pick your style:
- Classic: finish with a splash of cream and some whipped cream.
- Dairy-free: swap the cream for coconut milk.
- Fruity: top it with orange juice or lemonade.
Go easy on the extras, though. Syrup, juice, and cream add up quickly. A single cup of some chain dirty sodas can carry more sugar than the American Heart Association recommends for most women in a whole day. Whether you call it a Red Bull Italian soda, a Dirty Red Bull, or an Energy Spritzer, this two-decade-old Washington habit finally has the whole country’s attention.
