We Tried Stang, the 'World's Most Sour Soda,' So You Don't Have To

Last year, I led our sour candy taste test and, I gotta say, a lot of things that claim to be extremely sour aren’t all that sour. We tried heaps of candy and only six were sour enough to make the list. (Spoiler: Sour Skittles are surprisingly sour.) So, when our bottle Stang! arrived in the mail, I was dubious it would really make us pucker. See, Stang! loudly, proudly claims to be “the world’s most sour soda.” What I find funny about that is there really aren’t that many sour sodas on the market, so being the most sour soda is like being the smartest person at a college with, like, 17 students. Anyway, there was only one way to find out what we were dealing with…

Is Stang! really sour? And is sour soda good?

I’m pleased to report that Stang! is, in fact, quite sour. They did it! How did they do it? They added lots and lots of citric acid. According to novelty retailer Vat19, Stang! contains 30 times more citric acid than other sour drinks (although, they didn’t name names). Maybe you’re thinking what I’m thinking: Should a human really consume that much citric acid? Will my tooth enamel survive? Have they successfully transplanted an esophagus yet? I’ll let you do your own research, but a cursory look at popular health periodicals indicates it’s basically safe.

Alright, so, we’ve established it’s sour…but does it taste good?

I don’t think “good” is necessarily the word for it. Sourness is truly its defining feature, but the flavor of blue raspberry candy comes through, too. I actually took more than one sip because it was more intriguing than it was disgusting, although it is decidedly not refreshing. (Feel free to use that quote in your marketing materials, Stang!) Mostly, this is something you drink because you’ve been dared to do it by a cruel older cousin or because you have a masochistic streak and this is the healthiest way you’ve found to deal with that. Basically, if you’ve ever dreamt of drinking a full bottle of someone’s Warhead saliva, you’re going to absolutely love this stuff.

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.