REVIEW: Burger King Frozen Surge

Burger King Frozen Surge

Aaaand…now the ‘90s are back. Yeah, the house became full again and a different gender already met world, and the clever girls switched sides.

But it’s only now, when Coca-Cola decided to excavate a forgotten, bootleg Mountain Dew by way of a second-place fast food try-hard that the nostalgia train is perhaps learning it’s running out of track. Surge is back, baby! But at Burger King only! And it’s not really a liquid anymore! And what is Surge again?

Surge was Coca-Cola’s answer to Mountain Dew and launched in the mid ‘90s, but dwindling sales pretty much had it out of stores before Facebook existed. (A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Not drinking Surge.) Successors include Vault — which had more caffeine — and Red Bull chased with green Gatorade left overnight in a hot car. It’s questionable whether the world was thirsting for a rebirth of Surge. But here we are.

Like an imposter, something is different, as much as Coke wants us to believe the vintage drink is being reinstated. It’s in a Slurpee, ICEE form, and it’s being featured exclusively at your local, grungy Burger King. Other things exclusive to Burger King include Chicken Fries and the thought “I wish I was at McDonald’s.”

Burger King Frozen Surge 2

Frozen Surge is serviceable. The Surge flavoring seems more muted than the original drink, which I remember having maybe a handful of times. The ice freezes up the taste buds all nice so practically the entire flavor profile is on the back end of the drink experience, which features an artificial lemon-lime tinge that definitely tastes “green.”

It’s slightly sweet and has a citrus bent that is somewhere between a lemon-steeped carafe of table water and a green Brach’s candy bean. The semi-carbonated, energy drink-soda hybrids have become plentiful in the past decade during Surge’s absence, and this drink feels like a frozen version of all of those put together. There is a light, fizzy tickling of the back of the throat that is more apparent as the frozen parts of the drink become less so. Overall the taste is a neutral proposition — it’s like a watered down Mountain Dew Slurpee.

The biggest problems are the sticky fingers, which made me feel like a dirty ass toddler, and the speed at which I had to consume it. It’s called “Surge,” like some sort of extreme boost, but since it’s so cold I had to drink it super slowly because every other sip would trigger brain freeze. The flavors had me wanting to pound it like a Swedish hacker at 3 a.m., not like a Swedish hacker at 3 p.m. (They’re asleep so they would drink slowly, right?).

The best consistency is probably ten to fifteen minutes after purchasing the drink, when it’s warming up so the flavors surface a bit more. Unfortunately, the drink very quickly begins to melt from the bottom up soon after and leaves a puddle of syrup below a glacier of frozen green stuff. This makes for a delicate balance unsuited to the brutality of stuffing a Western Whopper and onion rings into your maw.

It’s hard to imagine anyone going out of their way to grab this, especially since it’s only available at Burger Kings, but along with a meal it’s a decent accompaniment that delivers light citrus flavors and a little bit of an energy drink kick. I’d say it makes you feel like you’re traveling through time to the ‘90s, but only because it constantly hurt my brain, like reruns of Full House that feature the Beach Boys. Cut it out.

(Nutrition Facts – Medium – 100 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein.)

Item: Burger King Frozen Surge
Purchased Price: $1.39
Size: Medium
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Would go well with a meal. Not unpleasant.
Cons: Flavors are slight. Sipping it so slowly because it’s too cold for brain, and then melting too fast.

17 thoughts to “REVIEW: Burger King Frozen Surge”

  1. You seem to have it out for Burger King, and favor McDonald’s. Many people feel exactly the opposite. You should refrain from displaying such bias when what you are supposed to be doing is reviewing a drink. Putz.

    1. Burger King is disgusting. I get grossed out driving by the place. If you don’t like the bias don’t read it, jerk. Burger King has a bad rep on its own, it didn’t need anyone else’s help.

    2. Kevin doesn’t have to like Burger King. He has to go there anyway, if he wants a Frozen Surge for whatever reason. Going out of his way to a restaurant he doesn’t like is absolutely a downside to the beverage in question and is therefore a valid criticism. He’s not just bashing BK, although he’s certainly free to do so because, as Technosquid says, it’s an opinion piece.

      Now go chill, and grab some chicken fries or something.

        1. The review is unbiased in the sense that Kevin doesn’t represent either Coca Cola or Burger King. Neither company gave him a free frozen Surge to review, either. (If he did represent either company, or if he’d been given free product, that would have to be disclosed as part of the review.) That’s how it’s unbiased.

          This particular review devotes a good five paragraphs to reviewing the actual product. There are three paragraphs of introduction and lead-up and one of conclusion, plus three blink-and-you’ll-miss-them jabs at Burger King. (The restaurant doesn’t even show up in the cons at the bottom!)

          Kevin may not like Burger King, and doesn’t make a secret of it, but he gave the Frozen Surge a chance and declared it average in an amusing way. I don’t know why people are focusing on the BK angle, when it’s such a small part of the review.

    1. McDonald’s isnt that great now that they do all day breakfast, it’s seems like they don’t clean the griddles or oil very often. Burger King is superior to nothing, it’s the bottom bitch.

      1. I used to like BK breakfast, getting those cinni buns and french toast sticks for a dollar was great.

        Those days are gone though ;'(

  2. We got it a week early here in Syracuse,, NY and between me and 3 other people I know we’ve accounted for at least 2 dozen sold. Pretty sure no one else has bought any food. Just stopped multiple times for the Frozen Surge.

  3. I agree for the most part. I thought the price was decent, but my friends and I agree that it still can not compare to a Baja Blast Freeze from Taco Bell, which is completely perfect.

  4. This review seems to focus on how it isn’t the same as regular surge, or how it is at bk only, but you can get a can of surge at any gas station around here. I have multiple cans a week.

  5. Wow you spent more time bitching about Burger King then reviewing this product I hope you don’t review any more products for this website

  6. Jeez, people are getting cranky. Have a peanut butter sandwich before you do any damage! The review made me want to find the nearest BK and try a frozen Surge, even though I’m allergic or otherwise unable to eat most of what they sell….

  7. BK consistently ranks significantly higher than McD’s on consumer surveys. Primarily because their meat actually taste like real meat & not mush extract like McD’s. Marvo has just influenced his fellow podcasters & site reviewers to hate on them because of their lettuce, group think is powerful.

    By no means is BK great, but they are definitely in a tier above McD’s with places like Wendy’s & Carl’s Jr. McD’s has been in the very bottom tier their entire existence.

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