Witch Doctor Soda Hack
A Southern soda-fountain tradition that blends five sodas with dill pickle brine and pickle slices for a sweet, tart, and distinctly savory glass of nostalgia.
- 1½ ozdr pepper
- 1½ ozcola
- 1½ ozlemon lime soda
- 1½ ozorange soda
- 1½ ozroot beer
- 1½ ozpickle brine
- Round pickle slices and a lemon wedgegarnish
- 1Fill a tall glass to the brim with crushed or pebble ice.
- 2Pour in the Dr Pepper, cola, lemon-lime soda, orange soda, and root beer, leaving a couple inches of room at the top.
- 3Float the pickle brine slowly over the top.
- 4Stir gently, 3 to 4 passes with a long spoon, to bring the sweet and savory together.
- 5Drop in the pickle slices so they float through the glass, squeeze the lemon wedge over the top, and serve with a wide straw.
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The Witch Doctor is a regional soda fountain specialty from the Concord and Kannapolis area of North Carolina, most closely associated today with the local What-A-Burger chain, though its roots trace back to Frye's Roller Rink in Concord in the 1950s. It combines a blend of sodas with pickle brine and pickle slices for a sweet, tart, and distinctly savory drink that has become a beloved regional tradition, with no single fixed recipe passed down beyond mixing equal parts of whatever is on the soda fountain plus a good pour of pickle juice.
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