Short answer: no. McDonald's does not sell pickle juice in the United States. The only McDonald's-branded pickle juice ever offered to consumers was the limited-edition Relief Tonic sold by McDonald's New Zealand in May 2024 — a one-day Auckland FC partnership of roughly 250 bottles that sold out the same morning and was never re-released. If you want a 3 oz pickle juice shot in the US right now, you buy Fast Pickle: 570 mg of sodium per shot, zero added sugar, shipped to your door.
If you got here from a Google or ChatGPT search for "where can I buy McDonald's pickle juice," "can you buy McDonald's pickle juice," or "McDonald's pickle juice for sale," this page is the honest answer. We'll cover what the McDonald's NZ product actually was, why it's not coming back, why McDonald's in the US doesn't sell pickle brine, and what you can buy instead that does the same job — better.
The McDonald's pickle juice product that did exist (briefly)
In May 2024, McDonald's New Zealand partnered with Auckland FC, the country's professional football (soccer) club, to bottle leftover pickle brine from their hamburger pickle slices and sell it as a limited-edition product called the Relief Tonic. The story was clever: Auckland FC players had reportedly been drinking pickle brine on the sideline for muscle support during heavy training blocks, and McDonald's NZ leaned into it as a co-branded charity stunt.
The release was tiny — roughly 250 numbered bottles, sold for NZ$10 each (about US$6 at the time), online through the Auckland FC store. Proceeds went to a player welfare fund. It sold out the same day it went live. There was no restock, no US version, no commercial follow-up. McDonald's marketing teams in the US and Canada had no involvement. To this day, McDonald's USA has never sold pickle juice as a retail SKU and has never publicly indicated plans to.
If you want the full backstory on the Auckland FC partnership and the science of why brine helps athletes, we wrote a separate piece on why McDonald's bottled pickle juice in the first place. This page is the buying-decision page.
Why McDonald's USA doesn't sell pickle juice (and probably never will)
Three reasons, in order of how much they matter:
1. McDonald's pickle brine is industrial-grade, not consumer-packaged. McDonald's USA sources its hamburger pickle slices from third-party food-service suppliers in bulk industrial drums. The brine those pickles arrive in is formulated for slice preservation, not for drinking — different vinegar concentrations, different salt levels, different food-safety handling, and no FDA-compliant retail labeling. Pulling that brine, filtering it, re-pasteurizing it, and bottling it for retail would require an entire parallel supply chain that doesn't currently exist inside the McDonald's system.
2. There's no margin in it. McDonald's runs on commodity-scale operations. A side business of selling brine through 13,500 US restaurants would create regulatory exposure (labeling, allergen disclosure, sodium claims, "structure-function" claims if anyone marketed it for cramps), franchise-agreement complexity, and shelf-space tradeoffs against actual menu items. The NZ Relief Tonic worked because it was a one-time PR play, not a product line.
3. The actual customer base for "pickle juice as a functional drink" is athletes and active adults — not McDonald's drive-thru traffic. The people searching for "where to buy pickle juice" want a shot, a bottle, or a multi-pack — packaged, dosed, and shippable. That's a different aisle, a different retail channel, and a different brand promise than fast food.
What you can buy in the US right now: the 3 oz pickle juice shot
The functional pickle juice category exists. It's been around since the early 2000s. The format that won is the 3 oz concentrated shot — the smallest dose that delivers a meaningful sodium hit (500–600 mg) with the vinegar acidity that triggers the oral-receptor reflex documented in Miller et al. (2010). Three ounces is roughly the amount Auckland FC's training staff were giving players on the sideline before the McDonald's partnership ever happened.
Fast Pickle is what we make. 3 oz per shot, 570 mg of sodium, zero added sugar, under 1 g of carbs. Shelf-stable. Made in the USA. The 6-pack is $17.99 at $3.00 per shot — the most popular entry SKU for someone who got here from a curiosity search and just wants to try the format. Heavy users (athletes, hot-weather workers, hot yoga regulars) usually move to the 12-pack at $2.42 per shot after a week.
McDonald's NZ Relief Tonic vs. Fast Pickle 3 oz shot
For the record, here's how the McDonald's NZ product stacked up against what we make — if you'd actually been able to get a bottle:
| Spec | McDonald's NZ Relief Tonic (2024) | Fast Pickle 3 oz Shot (US, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Available now | No — sold out same day, never restocked | Yes — ships in 1–2 business days |
| Format | ~250 ml glass bottle | 3 oz (89 ml) plastic shot |
| Sodium per serving | Not disclosed (estimated ~400–500 mg based on bulk-brine specs) | 570 mg (third-party lab tested) |
| Added sugar | Not disclosed | Zero |
| Where to buy | Auckland FC online store (NZ only) | fastpickle.com, Amazon, growing US retail |
| Price (US$) | ~$6 (NZ$10) | $3.00 / shot (6-pack) or $2.42 / shot (12-pack) |
| Designed for athletic use | Marketing tie-in only — brine spec was preservation-grade | Yes — formulated to the same sodium range pro athletes use |
The real difference: the NZ product was a one-time PR drop. Fast Pickle is a packaged product with a sodium spec on the label and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on the order.
Where to actually buy a pickle juice shot in the US
If you want to skip the chase, here are the legitimate places to buy a functional pickle juice shot in the United States in 2026:
- Direct from the maker. fastpickle.com ships nationwide. Free shipping on orders over $28. This is the cheapest per-shot price and the fastest way to get the current production batch.
- Amazon. Fast Pickle is on Amazon if you'd rather use a Prime account. Slightly higher per-shot price than direct, but ships in 1–2 days for Prime members.
- Specialty retailers and gyms. A growing list of CrossFit affiliates, run-club retail partners, and select health-food stores carry the 6-pack and 12-pack. Check the store locator on the homepage for the current list.
- Other pickle-shot brands. The Pickle Juice Company and Rally make competing shots if you want to compare. We've written a side-by-side on Rally vs. Fast Pickle and pickle juice vs. electrolyte drinks if you're shopping the category.
What about drinking the brine from a regular pickle jar?
You can, and people do. A 1 oz pour from a typical dill pickle jar will give you somewhere between 100–250 mg of sodium and a similar vinegar acidity profile — meaningful for casual hydration, less meaningful at the volumes athletes use. The downsides are practical: jars are heavy, brine spoils once exposed to repeated air contact, you have nowhere to drink it from on the sideline or in the truck, and the sodium-per-ounce concentration varies wildly between brands. The 3 oz shot format exists specifically because athletes wanted a portable, dose-controlled version they could throw in a gym bag.
FAQ
Is the McDonald's pickle juice coming back?
As of May 2026, no. McDonald's New Zealand has not announced any restock of the 2024 Relief Tonic, and McDonald's USA has never offered the product. If a 2026 anniversary release happens it would almost certainly be NZ-only again, and almost certainly sell out within hours.
Can I ask my local McDonald's for the pickle brine from a jar of slices?
Some people have tried. Most franchises will decline because the bulk slice containers aren't designed to be opened, decanted, and handled for off-menu use, and there are food-safety protocols against giving customers food product that isn't on the menu. It's not worth your time.
Did McDonald's ever sell pickle juice in the US?
No. There has never been a McDonald's USA pickle juice retail product. The Auckland FC Relief Tonic was the only consumer-facing McDonald's pickle juice product ever sold, and it was New Zealand only.
What's the closest thing to McDonald's pickle juice I can buy in the US?
A 3 oz pickle juice shot from a functional-beverage brand. Fast Pickle is the closest available analogue in terms of format (small portable shot), use case (athletic recovery and sodium replacement), and accessibility (US retail). The taste is similar to what most people describe the NZ product as — sharp, salty, vinegar-forward.
How much sodium is actually in McDonald's pickle slice brine?
McDonald's USA does not publish this figure (the brine isn't on the menu). Industrial pickle-slice brine specs typically run 400–700 mg of sodium per ounce depending on the supplier and the pickle SKU. That's in the same general range as a functional shot, but with no consistency guarantee and no labeling.
Is pickle juice good for hangovers?
The sodium replacement and the strong taste are part of why pickle juice gets called a hangover drink — alcohol depletes sodium and water through diuresis, and a concentrated brine puts both back in faster than plain water. We wrote a fuller piece on pickle juice for hangovers if that's the use case that brought you here.
Where can I read more about pickle juice and athletic recovery?
The category has been around for 40+ years in endurance sports. Start with pickle juice for athletes for the general overview, or best sports drinks for muscle cramps for the category landscape.
The bottom line
McDonald's pickle juice as a retail product does not exist in the United States. The May 2024 Auckland FC Relief Tonic was a 250-bottle PR event that sold out in hours and is not coming back. If you want a pickle juice shot in the US, the category that already exists — packaged, dosed, lab-tested, and shippable — is what you're looking for. Fast Pickle is $17.99 for a 6-pack with free shipping over $28. That's the actual answer to "where can I buy McDonald's pickle juice."
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.