A woman on TikTok says the lemonade she ordered from Taco Bell tasted like alcohol, but viewers suspect it’s something else.
The TikToker, known as Aiden (@aiden4adderall), said she took one sip of the pink lemonade and guessed there was alcohol in it. In the video, she’s seen sniffing the drink to confirm her guess.
“There’s no way it just smells like this. It’s Tropicana pink lemonade,” Aiden said in the video. “Like there’s no way it just smells like vodka.”
In the video’s on-screen caption, Aiden wrote, “Can I sue them? Like I am so confused I need to let someone else smell it tomorrow.”
Aiden’s video went viral with about 1.6 million views on TikTok as of Wednesday.
Although Aiden seemed convinced that the lemonade contained alcohol, viewers had their own theories for why the drink tasted off.
“I used to work at Taco Bell… there’s probably mold in that drink girl .. like hella mold,” one viewer commented on the video.
“dude that means their machine is moldy omg,” another viewer commented.
One viewer wrote, “something tells me they haven’t cleaned their soda machines in god knows how long.”
Several viewers suggested the taste was a result of fermentation.
“It’s prob super old and fermented itself,” one TikToker guessed.
“The lemonade can still ferment even if it’s Tropicana. If it’s left out improperly or for too long it ferments,” another TikToker said. (Yes, Tropicana can ferment into alcohol. In fact, stores have issued recalls over this.)
“It’s fermented!!!!!!” someone else wrote.
One viewer, who seemed more optimistic, asked, “could it be cleaning product from them cleaning the machine?”
In reply, Aiden wrote, “No it’s less chemical more mold/fermentation/liquor smell and taste.”
One viewer suggested “See if it freezes,” presumably because liquor doesn’t usually freeze.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Aiden said she tried contacting Taco Bell “multiple times” but never received a response. Then she tried calling the health department in her state and left a “lengthy voice message” explaining what happened to her.
Addressing viewers’ guesses that the Taco Bell could have been a cantina, Aiden clarified in the video that the Taco Bell she visited does not serve alcohol.
“I wasn’t at a cantina, it was just a regular Taco Bell,” she said in the video. “Also, they didn’t ID me, and I didn’t ask for it. And if I had had an allergy to alcohol or fermentation or mold of any kind, it would have killed me.”
Aiden said she worked in food service for five years and learned it’s “not that hard” to not put customers’ lives in danger.
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Taco Bell via email.
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