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

Gwynedd Stuart

Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.

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