Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher Review

Today, we review Sonic Drive-In’s Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher. This is a 2025 limited-edition offering from Sonic, meant to coincide with National Pickle Month, which takes place in July. As part of the promotion, Sonic is partnering with Grillo’s Pickles for three items in 2025.

Three items are a part of the National Pickle Month promotion:

Big Dill Double and Triple Sonic Smasher
Pickle Seasoned Tater Tots / Groovy Fries
Picklerita Slush (A slush beverage with pickle juice)

Sonic Drive-In is a fast-food drive-in restaurant chain. It was founded by Troy N. Smith Sr. in 1953, under the name Top Hat Drive-In. The first location was a walk-up root beer stand outside a log cabin steakhouse in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Today, the company is owned by Inspire Brands (which also owns other franchises, including Arby’s and Jimmy John’s). Today Sonic operates 3,400 franchises. The franchises feature carhops serving food to customers in their cars. Some of the carhops still wear roller skates.

As mentioned, Sonic is partnering with Grillo’s Pickles for its National Pickle Month campaign. The items in the campaign feature Grillo’s Pickles in some way. Grillo’s Pickles goes back to 2008 in Boston. That is where Travis Grillo started selling pickles out of a wooden cart. Today, Grillo’s Pickles has nationwide distribution. In 2021, Grillo sold Grillo’s Pickles to King’s Hawaiian, but remained in the role of CEO.

Without further ado, let’s get into our review of the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher.

The Construction

The following are the main components of the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher.

2 Smashed Burgers
Toasted Potato Bun
American Cheese (Melted)
Lettuce
Grillo’s Pickle Chips
Crispy Cucumber
Dilly Ranch
Entrees Eaten: 2
Location: Indian Trail, NC
Length: 6 inches
Weight: 5 ounces
Price: $7.49

Each Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher contains sliced Grillo’s Pickle Chips. The crispy cucumber is dehydrated and seasoned. Finally, the Dilly ranch is a dill-infused ranch dressing.

For those not familiar, smash burgers involve pressing (or smashing) ground beef into a thin patty on a hot grill. It allows the meat to brown more and creates a crispy crust on the edge of the meat. In addition to the double patty option, there is a Big Dill Triple Sonic Smasher with three smash burger patties.

The Experience

Scoring on the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher was similar to what was used on McDonald’s BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, but the cheese on this sandwich was scored as a condiment (which will be the rule in the future on my Coalition Eats assessments).

Burgers: 4 points
Bun: 2 points
Condiments: 2 points
Intangibles: 2 points

Burgers

The burgers are marketed as being made from Angus beef. As I mentioned with Arby’s Angus Cheesesteak, “Angus beef” has become a buzzword in the food industry. Angus refers to Aberdeen Angus, a breed of cattle native to Scotland, and is generally associated with higher-quality beef. This beef is considered superior because it has more marbling, making it more tender.

The two smash burgers had good flavor and a slight crispiness around the edges. However, I personally would have preferred them a bit crispier. Overall, these burgers didn’t impress me enough to do any handstands. I’ve been open to the whole “smash burger” concept, but I still haven’t been won over by it.

Score: 1.75 points out of 4.00 points

Bun

The bun is a potato bun. It is soft on the inside and has a slight crust. It had decent flavor. I did like the fact that it was toasted. At the same time, there was not much that stood out from the bun experience.

Score: 0.75 points out of 2.00 points

Condiments

There are five condiments used on the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher.

American Cheese: It was mild and creamy. I like my cheese pretty much melted through on the burger, and this is how it was on the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher.
Lettuce: Slightly wilted. It didn’t really contribute to the overall experience.
Crispy Cucumbers: These were pretty good. They weren’t overly spicy, but they added a little X-factor to the sandwich.
Grillo Pickles: This was the star of the show. It’s a dill pickle. As someone who has had Grillo’s Pickles before, they are some of the best in the business.
Dilly Ranch: Typically, ranch dressing and burgers don’t mix well together. However, I found the dill seasoning in the ranch to be a pleasant touch. It definitely improved the overall flavor and made the combination more bearable.

Score: 1.25 points out of 2.00 points

Intangibles

When considering intangibles, I focus on whether the overall experience exceeds the sum of its individual components. In the case of the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher, it truly does. Without the condiments, this smash burger would not be all that great. With maybe the exception of the lettuce, the condiments did elevate the experience. In general, I would consider this smash burger to have a below-average foundation, but the condiments dress it up.

This sandwich can get quite messy. The two Smash Burger patties and the sauce are the main contributors to the mess, but overall, using five condiments will definitely increase the messiness, regardless of how you slice it.

I must say, the two-patty option on the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher filled me up. I would have to be really hungry to opt for the Big Dill Triple Sonic Smasher.

Score: 1.25 points out of 2.00 points

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

I didn’t have high expectations going into this review of the Big Dill Double Sonic Smasher. As I mentioned, I’m not a big fan of the whole smash burger concept. I also had some concerns about how this pickle-centric burger would turn out.

Ultimately, it was an average experience. This isn’t a must-have item by any means. If the burger and bun were a little better, I could see this one working. I’m not sure there was enough to make me order this again, but at the same time, I didn’t regret ordering it. I would still encourage you to try it if smash burgers and a variety of pickle/dill condiments are your thing.