Hey Winstigators,

Last year when my wife was looking for some trashy TV to watch after some marathon days at work, she settled on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Apparently, it was quickly becoming some sort of cultural phenomenon, but it was completely off my radar. For those who aren’t aware, it’s a Hulu reality show about a group of Mormon moms who became famous on TikTok, got tangled up in some juicy swinging scandal and have now parlayed it into a hit TV show. It’s got everything you might expect: friendship problems, marriage problems, people storming out of rooms and then storming back into them and people explaining why someone who currently isn’t in the room is a terrible person.

And now, after four seasons and 40 episodes, I’m a giant fan and I don’t care who knows it. You couldn’t come up with better trash TV if you tried. Everyone is mad at everyone, no one should be trusted with a group chat, there are always some accountability conversations to be had and these women drink an absurd amount of soda.

Yeah, they drink regular soda, but they also go to these upscale bar/soda fountain places to get giant cups full of Diet Dr Pepper mixed with coconut cream, vanilla, lime, raspberry puree and whatever other concoctions they can come up with. It’s called dirty soda.

The dirty soda craze has taken off in Utah, where these shops have become institutions. The best explanation is also the easiest: members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints avoid alcohol, coffee and tea, but caffeine itself isn’t prohibited. So while most of America has a fixation on Starbucks and happy hour, Utah went in a different direction and decided to soup up Dr Pepper.

And being an absolute soda junkie, I’d been wanting to try it for a long time, but I also didn’t have plans to fly out to Utah anytime soon. Now I don’t have to go to Utah, I just have to head over to Featherbed Lane in Winchester because Filthy Fizz recently opened, bringing the Utah dirty soda craze right here.

The inside of Filthy Fizz is pretty simple. There’s a lot of pink, there are a lot of bright lights and there’s a counter where you head up to place your order. The staff is friendly and they asked if I knew what dirty soda was. I quickly affirmed that I did, hopefully not giving away exactly how excited I was to try it. Everyone who came in after me was greeted with the same question, so it’s apparent the staff is excited about their customers and showing them what sugary options are ahead.

The menu is massive. There are plenty of premade options, there’s a section for dirty Liquid Death drinks, aka sugar free, followed by dirty energy drinks featuring Monster, Red Bull and Alani. Then there’s a whole list of ingredients where you can dial in your own creation.

It was a little overwhelming, I can’t lie. I stood there scanning the menu, obviously being the guy who had never been there before and had no idea what to get. But I settled on a Campfire Fizz, which is a root beer base blended with vanilla syrup and marshmallow syrup, then topped with a creamy vanilla cold foam. When asked what size I wanted, of course I went with the large.

A minute later, my order was ready. It came in a giant clear cup with the foam sitting on top, and it looked tremendous.

At first, it just tasted like regular root beer, but then the marshmallow flavor and extra vanilla hit. Once I stirred in the foam, it all really took shape. It wasn’t overly sweet but all the flavors worked together to create something entirely new. The root beer provided a strong base, while the syrups and foam came together to create an absolutely delicious flavor. Yeah, this tasted like a s’more in a cup with root beer flavoring. It was awesome.

This is a place I can’t go every day. First, I’ll wind up in a diabetic coma, there’s no question about that. Second, it’s a bit pricey. The large was over eight bucks, which would even make Starbucks say, “Hold up.” And no, I don’t have to get a large every time…but yes, I have to get a large every time.

This is a place to go when you want to treat yourself to something fun or want a different option than your favorite coffee shop. After enough episodes of watching the Mormon wives haul giant cups of soda around and being jealous I couldn’t try it, I was ready to write off dirty soda as something relegated to Utah and a weird piece of reality TV culture.

But now it’s here and it’s delicious. Filthy Fizz is absolutely worth trying and seeing what the Mormon wives have known about for years.

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Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Charles Town - Bow Wow W/ Special Guest Twista & Bubba Sparxx

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester - Gardens at Night: Soul Expressions, July 10, 6pm - 9pm

Tally Ho Theater, Leesburg - Schism (A Tribute To Tool), July 10, 7pm

Dirt Farm Brewing, Bluemont - Dirt Farm Turns 11!, July 10, 12pm - 8pm

Great Country Farms, Bluemont - Little Farmers Education - July Series, July 10, 10am - 10:30am

Dirt Farm Brewing, Bluemont - Lobster Roll Weekends at Dirt Farm, July 3 - July 10

Antietam Creek Vineyards, Sharpsburg - Mark Cullinane, July 10, 5:30pm - 7:30pm

West Oaks Farm Market, Winchester - Logan Moore Live!, July 10, 6pm - 9pm

Cousins Maine Lobster - Virginia, Middleburg - 🦞 Cousins Maine Lobster at Greenhill Vineyards – First Fridays 🍷, July 10, 5pm - 8pm

Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point - Friday at the Track | 7.10.26, July 10, 8:30am

Kalero Vineyard, Purcellville - Sunset Yoga at the Vineyard, July 10, 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Warren Heritage Society Inc., Front Royal - Haunted Front Royal Ghost Tours, July 3 - July 10

Marker-Miller Orchards, Winchester - Patriotic Festival at Marker-Miller Orchards Farm Market, July 11, 9am - 5pm

Winchester Area SPCA, Winchester - Furrever Summer At The WASPCA, July 11, 11am - 3pm

James Charles Winery, Winchester - VA250 Fireworks at James Charles Winery & Vineyard, July 11, 8pm - 11pm

Handley Regional Library, Winchester - “A Perfect Frenzy” Book Talk, July 11, 2pm - 4:30pm

Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester - Author Reception: Pam Webber - Massawa, 4PM - 6PM

Tarara Winery, Leesburg - The Bridge with Elizabeth’s Furnace - Tribute to Led Zeppelin, July 11, 6pm - 9:30pm

Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, Woodstock - Truck & Tractor Pull - Woodstock Young Farmers, July 11, 5pm

Hollywood Casino, Charles Town - Dusty Slay, The Neighborhood Guy Tour, 8pm

Breaux Vineyards, Purcellville - Key West Festival 2026, July 11, 11am - 6pm

James Charles Winery & Vineyard, Winchester - Fizzle's BBQ Food Truck, July 11, 5pm

Seven Bends State Park, Woodstock - Seven Bends Adventure Race, July 11 - July 12

Battle Grounds Bakery & Coffee, Harpers Ferry - Film Photography Series: Street Photography, July 11, 8am - 10:30am

Winchester Brew Works, Winchester - Grocery Market @ Winchester Brew Works, July 12, 2pm - 6pm

Hopscotch Coffee & Records, Winchester - Honky Tonk Social at Hopscotch Coffee & Records, July 12, 4pm - 8pm

Drift Nirvana, Summit Point - Drift Nirvana: Two Track Drift (JC/WC), July 12, 7am - 5pm

Archwood Green Barns Farmer's Market, The Plains - Archwood Green Barns Main Farmers' Market Season, May 24 - July 12

Virginia Beer Museum, Front Royal - Pete & Chuck, July 12, 4pm - 7pm

Shenandoah River State Park, Daughter of Stars Drive, Bentonville, VA, USA, Bentonville - Shenandoah Reel Women Fly Fishing Camp - Session 2, July 12 - July 16

Dirt Farm Brewing, Bluemont - Trucker Hat Bar with Tilly Goose at Dirt Farm Brewing, July 12, 1pm - 4pm

Cousins Maine Lobster - Virginia, Amissville - 🦞 Cousins Maine Lobster at Gray Ghost Vineyards – 32nd Anniversary 🍷, July 12, 11am - 5pm

Olympia Drive, Ashburn - Brambleton Market, May 24 - July 12

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Have fun out there!