We Tried Dairy Queen's New Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush. Here's How It Went.
Dairy Queen has released a new line of spring treats, including the Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush, which is an icy-cold drink made especially for warmer days in the sunshine. The Poolside Punch is a brand new flavor to the Twisty Misty lineup and is a show-stopping Insta-worthy galaxy-colored drink that was clearly made for splashing across your social media accounts. If you haven't had a Misty Slush before, it's similar to the Slurpee from 7-11 or an ICEE, but the texture of the Misty Slush leans a little more into the snow cone category with finer ice.
If you've only become acquainted with Dairy Queen in recent years, you'll likely know this particular drink as the Misty Slush, which it was so named in 2017 when the drink found a permanent place on the Dairy Queen menu (via Businesswire). But those of us who have memories reaching back as far as the 1980s and '90s might fondly remember this particular frozen drink under the name of "Mr. Misty" — yet another nostalgic treat from the '90s that's made a comeback in recent years.
Whether you're a longtime Misty fan, or you're just hearing about it now, we're here to tell you everything you need to know about the newest Misty Slush flavor. We tasted it first-hand to let you know what's in it, how much it costs, where you can find it, and of course, how it tastes. Here's what you can expect.
What's in the Poolside Punch Twisy Misty Slush?
The Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush isn't just one flavor, but a twisted combination of a couple of flavors, including Blue Raspberry and Pink Punch flavors. Both Pink Punch and Blue Raspberry are stand-alone flavors on the Misty Slush menu, so they haven't exactly created an entirely new flavor here. Instead, they've swirled together two flavors that taste good together — but just as important, look good together. The drink starts with a base of finely ground ice, and the syrups for each flavor are added in a twisted effect, making for a delightfully trendy pink, purple, and blue drink that lands somewhere between cosmic and unicorn-inspired. The syrups are made with a host of natural and artificial flavors and colors, but mostly sugar in various forms.
While Dairy Queen's website does not give definitive information about whether the Poolside Punch is dairy-free or gluten-free, a quick look at the ingredients list doesn't turn up any obvious dairy or gluten ingredients. Several websites that track vegan and gluten-free dining options also consider the Misty Slush to be fine for anyone with those specific dietary needs. Of course, you can never rule out the chance of cross-contamination, so you may want to pay extra attention to your order if you have an allergy to these or any other ingredients. Due to supply chain issues and varying ingredients across locations, Dairy Queen suggests talking to the staff at your location about any allergies.
How much does the Poolside Punch slush cost?
The Dairy Queen website doesn't list the prices of the available items. Instead, prices are set by location. We ordered our Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush from a DQ Grill & Chill in a heavily trafficked area of New York City, where we were charged $3.49 for a medium slush before tax. Another nearby location offers the slush for $2.49 for a small, $2.69 for a medium, and $2.89 for a large Poolside Punch. Yet another location further away offers a small Misty Slush for as low as $2.19. So ultimately the price will depend entirely on where you get it from.
Generally speaking, the busier or more urban the area is, the more expensive your slush might be. If you have your slush delivered through a service like Doordash, Uber Eats, Postmates, or GrubHub, there's a chance the prices may be higher with additional delivery fees and tips. With all of that in mind, you can expect to pay anywhere from $2 to $4 in-person before taxes for a Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush depending on drink size and location.
Where and how long will this flavor be available?
You can expect to find the seasonal Poolside Punch slush flavor nationwide, although not all locations will have it. Luckily, we spotted it on the menus of both Grill & Chill locations as well as Treat-only locations. Remember, it's not on the Treats menu, but on the Drinks menu, so make sure you're looking for it in the right place. You can check out the menus of Dairy Queen locations near you on the Dairy Queen website to see if they've got the slush you're looking for available, but in our experience, the website doesn't always have the most accurate representation of the restaurant's full availability. If you don't see what you want, we encourage you to call and see if it's actually being offered in-store.
While the Poolside Punch flavor combination was released as part of the spring lineup of seasonal drinks, there is no official word on how long this flavor will be available. But we have a strong suspicion that this drink will be on the menu straight through summertime with a name like "Poolside Punch." Our biggest clue comes from the drink's description currently on the Dairy Queen website which says it, "tastes like summer in a cup" and mentions the word "summer" three times (and "spring" zero times) — which is great news for those of us who live in areas where it isn't exactly warm enough for frozen drinks quite yet.
You can make your own Misty Slush combinations
As we mentioned, the two flavors that make up the Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush are also available as stand-alone drink options on the Misty Slush menu. While the Pink Punch flavor gets its own billing, the blue raspberry flavor can be found as one of the options in the regular Misty Slush category. The other available flavors include cherry, mango, lemon-lime, strawberry kiwi, and grape. If you're feeling inspired by the Poolside Punch flavor combo, consider asking to mix two other flavors to make your dream flavor combination. We like the idea of mango and lemon-lime, and cherry or strawberry kiwi with pink punch.
If you're torn between ordering a Misty Slush and a cone of Dairy Queen's iconic soft serve, you actually don't have to choose. There's also a version of the Misty called the "Misty Freeze" that's got your choice of Misty Slush flavor blended into soft serve. We like this option because it's a little lighter than the ultra-thick Blizzard options, although getting it with the Poolside Punch flavors isn't specifically available (again, it never hurts to ask). Of course, the Misty Freeze option has dairy in it, which is something to consider when choosing between the two Misty options.
On the drinks section of the menu, there are also options for Orange Julius smoothies and juices, as well as a variety of milkshakes.
What's the nutrition information for the Poolside Punch Twisty Misty Slush?
We were a little surprised when checking out the nutrition information for the Poolside Punch Slush. Given that the drink seems to be made primarily of water, sugar, flavoring, and color, we assumed it would have an overwhelming calorie count. But the small slush clocks in at just 200 calories, which could be a comfortable snack, depending on your diet and calorie needs. It wasn't surprising to see that the majority of those calories come from carbs, of which there are 51 grams — 50 grams coming from total sugars. There is also 35 mg of sodium, and that's about all there is to this drink, nutritionally speaking.
As we know, not all calories are created equal, and what contributes to those calories is often just as important as how many calories there are for some people. According to The New York Times, the FDA recommends no more than 50 grams of sugar per day. By that standard, one small Misty Slush would be an entire day's worth of sugar.
The medium drink has 280 calories and the large drink has 380 calories. It's not immediately clear how many ounces are in each size cup of Misty Slush according to the online information, and the volume wasn't written on the cup. But we believe that the medium size is 16 ounces, making the small about 12 ounces and the large about 24 ounces, according to our best guesses.
Verdict: You're either going to love it or hate it
It's probably safe to say that if you order a Misty Slush, you're probably expecting a sweet and fruity drink, and you would absolutely not be wrong. We definitely expected it to be sweet but were a little shocked by just how sweet it is. The Poolside Punch Slush somehow manages to be sweeter than sugar, and the fruity flavors are nearly overwhelming on the first sip. Unidentified berry and lemon rage across your taste buds while the food coloring immediately starts turning the back of your tongue purple. The flavors are a mix between bold berries, fruit punch, and lemonade all in one.
With that said, it lives up to its description and tastes like a sip of summertime. It's icy cold and ideal for 90-degree days. About halfway through tasting the drink, we reached a point where our taste buds had acclimated to the sweetness, or some of the ice had begun to melt enough to dilute the truly intense sweetness, or maybe both. But that's about when we really started to enjoy the drink.
Next time we'll consider letting it melt some before drinking it, which shouldn't be a problem in the summer sun. If you've got a strong sweet tooth, we think you might enjoy the Poolside Punch Slush as a special treat, but if not, you're going to want to order something else — or at least enjoy it with some salty snacks for balance!