Get ready to laissez les bon temps rouler.
Super Bowl attendees will soon have free access to three exclusive drinks from Pepsi’s research-and-development chefs and New Orleans’ cultural experts next weekend ahead of Super Bowl LIX.
The soda brand’s crafted beverage concept, DRIPS by Pepsi, piloted a mobile pop-up in New York City in September, and New Orleans is the next stop for the bar in a modified Airstream trailer, which will offer eight custom drinks at the free Pepsi NOLA Eats Fest on Friday and Saturday, February 7-8.
“This is not just a Super Bowl moment but a New Orleans moment,” Scott Finlow, PepsiCo Away From Home chief marketing officer, tells Food & Wine, introducing the three New Orleans-themed flavors that will headline the menu.
A variation of the Hand Grenade (gin, rum, and pineapple juice), the Dude Dirty Gator combines Mountain Dew, vanilla creamer, pineapple, and honeydew melon with gator-shaped gummies inside. Meanwhile, the Hurricane-inspired Starry Berry Beads comprises passion fruit, lime, edible glitter, and starry, fruity boba. And the Pepsi Zero Sugar Praline for Ya layers Pepsi Brown Sugar Boba with praline syrup and a velvety cold foam.
Finlow describes the recipes as a play on dirty soda, a Mardi Gras party in a cup, and an homage to the signature sweet of New Orleans. “We have the best R&D capability to make drinks in the world,” he says, touting “a real degree of cultural attenuation to making sure we landed something that was respectful of New Orleans and celebrated the culture and the drinks.”
DRIPS by Pepsi’s Super Bowl LIX Drinks
Praline for Ya: Pepsi or Pepsi Zero Sugar with brown sugar boba, praline syrup, and a cold foam topper with a caramel sauce drizzle
Dirty Gator: Mountain Dew with vanilla creamer, pineapple and honeydew melon, and gator-shaped gummies
Berry Beads: Starry with fruity boba, passionfruit, lime, and edible glitter
The handmade beverage brand aims to celebrate experimentation and connect with Gen Z amid drink customization trends like boba, cold foam, creamers, and syrups. It will soon appear at more college campuses and festivals, following its initial events at Central Park in Manhattan, Domino Park in Brooklyn, and Penn State. “DRIPS by Pepsi is really the opportunity for people to experience our Pepsi brands and products in new and creative ways,” Finlow says.
The beverage bar is just one aspect of Pepsi NOLA Eats Fest, which will also host 10 New Orleans restaurants (serving barbecue, Creole, and more), a seafood boil cookoff, and craft cocktails at Woldenberg Riverfront Park, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., each day. Beyond all that, celebrities like Action Bronson, Mannie Fresh, and Larry Morrow will be appearing. Fans can RSVP at PepsiLocalEats.com.
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