Over the past five years, McDonald’s has brought back the McRib four times in the United States. During those same five years, not once did Pepsi bring back what I think is the best Mountain Dew flavor of all time — Pitch Black.

The grape Mountain Dew flavor was introduced in Fall 2004 and it was also re-released in 2005, although it was reformulated and not as good as the original.

However, after years of whining and testing my patience, I’m happy to say Mountain Dew Pitch Black, one of my favorite ways to consume high fructose corn syrup, is returning for a limited time as part of their “Back By Popular DEW-mand” promotion. I don’t know which version they’ll be bringing back or if they have a new version of the soda that will probably be called Pitch Black 3, but I’m just glad Pepsi decided to bring it back, period.

Mountain Dew Pitch Black will be available for eight weeks, beginning in May 2011. I just hope they bring it back Next year, and the year after that.

Source: BevReview

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we follow.

Fruitcakes are the cassette tape of the dessert world, because I can’t believe companies still make them. (via The Surfing Pizza)

The UK has a minty chocolate candy bar that’s meant to be eaten after dinner called After Eight. Is there also a senior citizen version called After Five Thirty? (via Foodstuff Finds)

There’s a Donkey Kong Energy Drink. I wonder if it’s possible to recycle the can by throwing it down a structure to try and thwart a pudgy Italian American plumber in red overalls from rescuing his girlfriend. (via Caffeine King)

You know what homemade Mountain Dew scented shampoo is good for? Attracting skateboarders, Call of Duty players and trademark lawyers. (via Possessed by Caffeine)

When I read its name, I thought Dear Girl Thunder was a Japanese candy bar that causes flatulence. I was wrong. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

To write this sentence about Would I Buy It Again’s review of the Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Chicken Enchilada Burrito, I just used words from other sentences I’ve written to create a new sentence. (via Would I Buy It Again)

I now know what it’s like being The Bachelor, thanks to this year’s Mountain Dew DEWmocracy flavors.

(NOTE: Read more about DEWmocracy here.)

However, instead of having a harem of fame-seeking women to choose from and give roses to if I deem them to be beautiful or least craziest, I had to select between three caffeine-fortified and Durex condom-colored flavors — White Out, Typhoon and Distortion. Just like The Bachelor, I got to suck face with all of the contestants and put myself at risk for catching a disease. While The Bachelor had to worry about mono and herpes, I had to worry about diabetes and obesity.

If I were giving out roses, like The Bachelor does, to those flavors I would like to see added to the regular Mountain Dew lineup, I would give the first one to the tropical punch flavored Mountain Dew Typhoon. While those who live in the western part of the Pacific Ocean probably don’t like its name, I thought its pineapple and citrus flavor was the best tasting and most unique of the three DEWmocracy flavors. Although, as much as I liked it, I wasn’t completely blown away by it.

I’d give another rose to Mountain Dew Distortion, but only because it’s a tranny soda, and I’m fascinated by tranny sodas. It’s a tranny soda because it looks like regular Mountain Dew, but once it’s popped open, proof of its true self will dangle in front of your face. Distortion is a “lime blasted” Mountain Dew and not only are its looks familiar, but also its flavor. It reminded me of the Taco Bell exclusive Baja Blast Mountain Dew, which I do enjoy partaking with my Taco Bell meal that most likely contains seasoned ground beef, cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and refried beans in a soft tortilla. Distortion’s lime flavor was a little bit stronger than the Baja Blast, placing it slightly into the territory of sodas that taste more like floor cleaners, but I did enjoy it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t give a rose to every flavor. So I chose not to give one to Mountain Dew White Out, which I will call, on occasion, in this paragraph, Virgin Smirnoff Ice, because it looks like Smirnoff Ice. According to the bottle, Virgin Smirnoff Ice’s flavor is described as a “smooth citrus Dew,” which I totally agree with because it tasted like a flat Sprite with tangerine/orange undertones. It’s not an exciting flavor and if I had to compare it with a contestant from The Bachelor, it would be the flat-chested one, who can’t hold my interest for more than five minutes. Mountain Dew White Out would’ve been a lot more interesting if I could get high while huffing it.

Overall, I don’t think Distortion and Virgin Smirnoff Ice were as creative as the 2008 DEWmocracy flavors. While each of the 2008 flavors combined citrus with other fruit flavors, the 2010 versions, except Typhoon, were just different shades of citrus. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get checked for diabetes since I made out with all of the DEWmocracy contestants.

(Nutrition Facts – 20 ounces – 280 calories, 0 grams of fat, 105 milligrams of sodium, 76 grams of carbohydrates, 76 grams of sugar and 0 grams of protein.)

Here are other Mountain Dew DEWmocracy reviews:

We Rate Stuff
Everyview
Soda Giant
Possessed by Caffeine
The Soda Jerks (audio podcast)
BevReview – Distortion, White Out, Typhoon
Gigi Reviews – White Out and Distortion
Canned Reviews – Typhoon, White Out and Distortion

Item: Mountain Dew DEWmocracy Flavors 2010 (Distortion, Typhoon, White Out)
Price: $1.29 each
Size: 20 ounces
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Distortion)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Typhoon)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (White Out)
Pros: Typhoon was the best tasting and most creative flavor. Distortion reminds me of Baja Blast Mountain Dew. 91 milligrams of caffeine per 20 ounce bottle. Participating in a democratic process.
Cons: Distortion tastes like floor cleaner. White Out tastes like a flat Sprite and doesn’t get one high if huffed. More ways to consume high fructose corn syrup. The crazy contestants on The Bachelor.

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Show Notes:

This week, I report on a new line of sandwiches from Starbucks, a new gum flavor from Stride and another new Pop-Tarts. The Week in Reviews look back at reviews from Grub Grade, BevReview and Japanese Snack Reviews. And a 60 second review on the Mac Snack Wrap.

Length: 6:28

Week in Reviews Links:

Grub Grade’s review of the Domino’s Pizza’s new recipe

BevReview’s review of Mountain Dew Throwback and Pepsi Throwback

Japanese Snack Reviews impression of Suntory Love Mode Ginger Zero

Photo Credits:

Other photos via www.istockphoto.com.

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

Seriously, Mountain Dew? Is this purple soda your way of teasing us Mountain Dew Pitch Black lovers? Just bring it back already. Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with high fructose corn syrup on top. (via BevReview)

I have one of these in my fridge. It’s been sitting in there for over six months. I hope it gets better with time. (via ED Junkie)

Chocolate shaped like Lego? I know how to stop the big bad wolf from blowing down my house. Instead of blowing it down, he’ll eat the chocolate, then get sick from it and then I’ll blow him away with Lady Gaga blasting from huge ass speakers. (via Candy Blog)

With the number of meals Lean Cuisine introduces every year, mathematically, they eventually had to combine bacon with alfredo. (via Yum Yucky)

Something named Jungle Joose that tastes bad? Doesn’t all jungle juice taste bad? (via Possessed by Caffeine)

All right Pepsi, this time I’m ready for your new…I mean, retro Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback sodas. I’ve got money to buy them and space to hold them, so I’m already several steps ahead of you. I’m going to hoard those Throwback bitches like I’m stocking up my fallout shelter for the next decade after someone releases a deadly virus that turns people into mindless zombies or whatever else video game designers think the post-apocalyptic future will consist of.

I already have a lot of regret from not stocking up on Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Summer Mix, Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Twist and Pepsi Holiday Spice, although my stomach lining probably doesn’t feel the same way. At the time, I thought they were going to be around forever, so it didn’t dawn on me that I should buy out every store within a 50 mile radius. If only I knew then what I know now, I would be sipping on a vintage bottle of Crystal Pepsi as I type this, making retro hipsters everywhere jealous, and I would be making tens of dollars selling an occasional bottle or can on eBay to some kid who saw a segment about it on VH1′s I Love The 90s.

Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback takes drinkers to a time when sodas weren’t sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), instead they were sweetened with real, natural sugar. It was also a period when disco wasn’t annoying, Larry King had only three marriage under his belt and all it took for a woman to get a guy horny was to show one of her bra straps.

I thought using real sugar was going have the same effect a bikini has on Jessica Alba’s body — making them much sweeter. But the real sugar seems to mute the flavor of both sodas. Or maybe I’m mistaking that for the lack of bite these don’t have, but the HFCS versions do have, which for a few the bite feels somewhat like you’re a ShamWow spokesperson getting your tongue bitten by a prostitute.

Both sodas also seem to be less carbonated, which makes them easy to drink and smooth as it slides down my gullet. But perhaps it’s too smooth because I could see how some people might think they’re drinking a flat soda. At least all this smoothness and drinkability (yeah, I know it’s not a real word) makes my burps feel cleaner and less harsh.

If you were to have your own personal Pepsi Challenge blind taste test, you could definitely tell the difference between the Throwback versions and the regular versions. I could taste a difference and, despite my belief that the real sugar might be muting the flavor, I definitely prefer the Throwback versions because they have a cleaner and crisper taste than their HFCS cousins.

Unfortunately for me, the Pepsi Throwback and the Mountain Dew Throwback are only here for a limited time, so I’m going to start hoarding them in 3…2…1.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 can – Pepsi Throwback – 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 40 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein and 38 milligrams of sweet, sweet caffeine. Mountain Dew Throwback – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein and 54 milligrams of sweet, sweet caffeine.)

(Note: BevReview gets all up in the bizness of both the Mountain Dew Throwback and Pepsi Throwback. Here’s another review of them via Pulpconnection. And here’s a review from Gigi.)

Item: Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback
Price: FREE
Size: 12 ounces
Purchased at: Received from marketing firm
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Pepsi Throwback)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Mountain Dew Throwback)
Pros: Cleaner and crisper than their HFCS cousins. Sweetened with real sugar. No HFCS. No bite. Easy to drink. Makes my burps feel less harsh. Sweet, sweet caffeine.
Cons: Dear Lord, they have a lot of sugar. Only here for a limited time. Some people might mistake the smoothness of the sodas as being flat. I miss Crystal Pepsi and Pepsi Holiday Spice. Getting your mugshot posted on The Smoking Gun. Disco.