Dairy Queen Discontinued Old Fashioned Sodas (But You Can Easily Make Them At Home)

Before Dairy Queen offered savory meals, the chain started out as a dessert stand. The founders revolutionized frozen treats with introduction of their recipe for a soft serve dairy product, which is still the star of iconic desserts like the dipped cone and the countless varieties of Blizzards. However, there are many discontinued Dairy Queen desserts we wish would come back, and one of them is the Old Fashioned soda.

There isn't an official recipe out there except for details provided by employees on Reddit. If you don't already know, the treat is a delicious twist on a classic float, the Old Fashioned soda at Dairy Queen swaps Coke or root beer for plain soda water. However, instead of a simple scoop of ice cream, the soda water gets flavored syrup and a generous dollop of whipped cream stirred into it before adding the soft serve. Another dose of whipped cream and some maraschino cherries are usuallyt the finishing touches to this sadly discontinued menu item that came in chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple flavors (though others could be available at specific stores).

While you may not see the Old Fashioned soda on the menu at Dairy Queen, many confirm that you can request it as a secret menu item. On the aforementioned Reddit post, employees also said that their respective locations were still producing between five and 20 Old Fashioned sodas a day, the most popular flavors seemingly being chocolate and strawberry. However, when the original post was made six years ago, the Old Fashioned soda appeared to be drifting into obscurity. According to one worker on Reddit, "We make maybe three a year where I work ... and no one really knows how to make them correctly."

While there are plenty of TikTok videos demonstrating how DQ employees make an Old Fashioned chocolate soda, current employees at your local Dairy Queen might not be in the know. Since many locations sell chocolate soft serve, you could order an Old Fashioned chocolate soda off the "secret menu" by asking for a cup of chocolate soft serve with chocolate syrup, then have it filled halfway with soda water and stirred slightly.

However, if you'd rather skip a run to Dairy Queen for your Old Fashioned soda, you can always make one at home with dessert and drink staples like chocolate, strawberry, or caramel syrups, milk, ice cream, club soda, and whipped cream. You'll start by adding a few tablespoons of chocolate or other flavored syrup to a glass along with a quarter cup of milk, stirring to combine. Add a scoop of a popular vanilla ice cream brand and enough soda water to reach the top of the glass, then top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. You can also skip the milk altogether by stirring the syrup directly into the soda water along with a dollop of whipped cream for the creamy yet bubbly foundation. Then, you can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and top it all off with more whipped cream and a cherry garnish.