Why Midwestern Gas Stations Are Serving 'Heavy Soda'

Say what you want about gas station sodas, but they taste like nectar straight from heaven after driving five hours straight on the interstates. Armed with a cup full of ice, you're free to take your pick of anything from Sprite to Coke, and in places like Southern California, nostalgic options like Cactus Coolers. But if you live in the Midwest or your trips have taken you through America's heartland, you might've noticed that next to the usual options, there's one with a sticker saying "Heavy" on top. When you try it, the drink will taste a lot more flavorful than the usual stuff. So, what exactly is heavy soda?

To begin, we have to crack open a soda fountain. Sodas aren't dispensed from pre-mixed bottles like most people would expect. Instead, when you press on the dispensing lever, soda water and a flavor-rich syrup from your brand-of-choice are mixed together in the nozzle, then poured into your cup. In standard (or "light") sodas, the ratio is five parts soda and one part syrup. For heavy sodas, though, the amount of syrup is tweaked to give you a drink with more robust flavor.

Places that offer heavy sodas are known to put the "light" version next to it. You can even buy the canned version, which, despite tending to taste more concentrated, would have nothing on heavy soda. While some people might not vibe with the more intense flavor, sodas probably won't taste quite the same for you ever again.

For those in the know, heavy sodas are mostly a Midwestern phenomenon, with most of the "sightings" of heavy sodas occurring at gas stations in the southern part of Missouri. While some online sources have attributed the drink to western states, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Reddit users from the Carolinas all the way down to Texas report they've never heard of the thing. One user even chimed in that they've only seen heavy sodas once, and it was in a gas station in Missouri.

It's unclear exactly who first came up with this and why (gas stations are less likely to turn a profit by using more syrup), just that it seemingly came out of nowhere and is now gaining attention online and becoming one of the new "soda trends" like those fluffy and dirty sodas we had a while ago. But there's a pretty compelling theory for the rationale behind heavy sodas, and no, it's not because Missourians want their sodas to be uber-sweet.

Let's face it — you're probably not finishing that 32-ouncer in one go, especially while navigating the interstate. Normally, melting ice would leave you with a watery, flavorless mess. But with heavy sodas' extra syrup, that ice actually works in your favor, gradually diluting the drink until you've got a perfectly balanced soda hours into your drive. And if you happen to prefer it sweet from the start, well, that's just a bonus.