The fruitcake is a hot mess of ingredients that somehow became a holiday staple. It’s also one of those things that people either love or instantly throw away when the giver of the fruitcake is not looking.

While I don’t automatically throw away those that I receive, I do treat them like the McRib. I give it a try every year to find out if my taste buds have changed enough that I actually think it’s good, and when I realize nothing has changed, I sigh, gobble the rest up, and then say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 26 times, WHY HAVEN’T I LEARNED MY LESSON?! AM I A MASOCHIST? DO I NOT CARE ABOUT MY TASTE BUDS? SHOULD I CUT OFF MY TONGUE?”

While an actual fruitcake is a complex recipe containing spices, fruit, nuts, and cake, Mtn Dew Fruit Quake’s fruitcake flavor is simple. It starts with a strong, sweet fruit punch taste that I’ve never experienced when it comes to fruitcake, but it’s something that I’ve tasted a few times when it comes to fruit punch-flavored Mountain Dew. After that fades, some fruitcake spices are noticeable, although barely. The addition of spices makes me wonder if there’s a bit of Gingerbread Snap’d’s recipe in Fruit Quake.

But that’s it, just fruit punch and a smidge of spices that your taste buds might not even notice. There isn’t any cake flavor here, despite Mtn Dew having experience creating the taste with the brand’s Cake-Smash. And, even though the can’s graphics show nuts, the soda lacks the flavor of nuts. But if it did have it, that would be impressive and a bit odd.

Speaking of weird, the soda’s aroma has an expected intense fruitiness, but at times there’s a little something that reminds me of egg nog that probably comes from whatever spice flavors are included. Perhaps Mtn Dew Egg N’gg will be a future holiday variety? Just throwing it out there, PepsiCo.

With Mtn Dew Fruit Quake, I expected a beverage that’s a bit more unusual tasting, much like last year’s Gingerbread Snap’d flavor. So it’s a little disappointing that it’s a fruit punch Dew with a hint of spices that could be easily missed. With that said, it’s a decent tasting Dew that I wouldn’t throw away when no one is looking.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12-pack 12 oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 43 grams of sugar (including 43 (including 43 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 54 milligrams of caffeine.