REVIEW: Dirty Mountain Dew

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Three cans of Dirty Mountain Dew

After all the thousands of milligrams of caffeine that Mountain Dew has given me over the years, which has helped me cram for final exams, write reviews about stuff like cheese-flavored ramen, and binge watch as much as I can during free trials for streaming services, I can’t believe I’m about to do Mountain Dew dirty. Do the Dew Dewrty, if you will.

On paper, combining Mountain Dew with cream flavor sounds Dewlightful, but Dirty Mountain Dew is unDewhelming. And if it weren’t for the caffeine I depend on to stay focused while jumping down YouTube rabbit holes of self-improvement videos about the book Atomic Habits, the remaining cans would probably end up in the back of the pantry closet, next to a set of half-full 1980s McCormick spice bottles with the green lids and labels that have been gathering dust for decades.

I’ve purchased and made my fair share of dirty sodas over the years, and this ready-to-drink Dirty Mountain Dew doesn’t hit me the same way my own creations or the ones I overpaid for do. It’s sweet, citrusy, and a little sour, but that cream flavor comes off a little strange. Rather than enhancing the citrus, it feels more like a hindrance, making the soda taste less like Mountain Dew and more like a dirty Sprite, 7UP, or Starry. That doesn’t sound like a terrible thing, but I want to Do the Dew, not Settle for Sprite, 7UP, or Starry.

Dirty Mountain Dew does look like the water on Degobah.

With that said, the soda has a key lime pie vibe to it and it’s not horrible, which makes it sound like a winner. But, again, there’s something about that cream flavor that makes everything feel and taste slightly off. There is a smoothness to the soda that makes it easy to drink, since there’s not a lot of carbonation that you’d get from a regular Mountain Dew. However, I wouldn’t say that equates to some kind of creaminess. Then, at the end, the cream flavor leaves an odd aftertaste and a mouthfeel that coats the tongue and lingers longer than it should.

Instead of this Dirty Mountain Dew, you’re better off buying creamer or whatever dairy or non-dairy floats your boat, and doing your own Dirty Dew.

The Mountain Dew Universe (MDU) is expansive enough that I imagine there are plans for other Dirty Mountain Dew flavors. But before any of them make their Dewbut, I’d recommend cleaning up that cream flavor first.

Purchased Price: $6.67
Size: 12 fl oz cans/12-pack
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of total carbohydrates, 44 grams of total sugars (includes 44 grams of added sugars), 0 grams of protein, and 54 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie

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Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie box

Fast food really isn’t about food. Really, it’s more like an edible form of pop culture. And nothing demonstrates that more than the existence of the co-branded Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie.

It’s a 2,500-calorie-plus novelty dessert that nearly tips the scales at two pounds when it’s still in the box. It’s not really marketed as something you eat as much as it is an experience. That’s doubly reinforced by its steep $20 asking price; there may not be a vast market for something like this, but there’s definitely some kind of consumer demand for it. (Just so you know, I could still hear my local TB representative through the drive-thru speaker after I placed my order: “Hey, some [expletive deleted] is actually buying one of these things!”)

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie top

I’ve got a feeling people are going to pick these up just for the packaging alone. And to be fair, it is pretty cool looking. I can easily see the boxes fetching a pretty penny on eBay in about ten years.

But what about the pie itself? Well, all in all … it isn’t bad.

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie teal color

Probably the first thing you’ll notice about the pie is its rich teal color. It’s not quite the same color as the beverage it’s named after, but it’s pretty close to it. The instructions on the box suggest leaving the pie out to thaw for about four hours, with the explicit recommendation that you don’t microwave it. I can’t think of a reason why you physically couldn’t put it in an oven and bake it, though — but just to play it safe, I took Taco Bell’s advice and patiently waited for my pie to unfreeze itself.

The aroma of the pie is unmistakable. It’s Baja Blast scented, alright, with just a little sherbet ice cream smell in there. Even if you had no idea what the product was supposed to be, if you get a big whiff of it, you should automatically deduce that it’s a Mountain Dew derivative.

The pie has a nice, sturdy Graham cracker crust, with a couple of flourishes of whipped topping encircling it like a halo. It’s obviously not a rush job either, as somebody definitely took their time making the creamy border look as pretty as possible. Aesthetically, it’s a lot nicer than I anticipated.

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie slice

Now, the moment of truth: the taste test.

It’s a fairly unusual product, but I guess we all knew that heading into it. With the first couple of bites, all I got was a super tart, key lime pie flavor. But the more I chewed, the more the Baja Blast flavor made itself apparent. Granted, it’s not a perfect one-to-one replication of the Baja Blast taste, but it’s an impressive recreation all the same. The texture and mouthfeel of the pie filling kinda reminded me of a thick sorbet, or maybe an extra chewy gelato. And it syncs up shockingly well with the aforementioned crust and whipped topping. The co-branding gimmick aside, it actually IS a real pie, and a surprisingly pleasant one at that.

Objectively, you can’t tout the pie too much. It’s way too pricey even for a novelty product, and I probably wouldn’t want to eat one of these every week. But overall, I’d consider it an unexpectedly decent fast food dessert item — even if it does open the floodgates for an inevitable wave of cola-flavored comestible imitators.

Purchased Price: $19.99
Size: 30.4 ounces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: One serving (eight servings per container) — 320 calories, 13 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans far, 15 mg of cholesterol, 200 mg of sodium, 46 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 32 grams of sugar (including 26 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mountain Dew x Trolli Cherry-Lemon

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Every year since 2019, Mtn Dew, no, sorry, Mountain Dew (they decided to spell it out again) has unleashed a spooky-themed mystery flavor under the name VooDEW. The freaky flavored opaque grey bubbly liquid ranged from the inaugural candy corn to “fruit candy chews” to 2023’s official collaboration with Airheads candy for a branded cherry flavor. But now Mountain Dew VooDEW is a ghost of the past, at least for 2025. Skipping over the frightful mystery contest in favor of a straight-up co-branded candy collab, this year’s newest Dew is a Trolli Cherry-Lemon gummy, available in only zero sugar.

While this absurdly vibrant red soda may lack the suspenseful surprise of the VooDEW branding, what it doesn’t lack is a punch when it comes to flavor. The cherry lemon gummy presence is just as bold as the coloring, with a strong cherry that verges on syrupy without ever going into the “not good” territory. It’s a big pop of cherry followed by lemon and the classic Dew flavor, which is already lemony in its own right.

The taste of this Trolli collaboration reminds me a lot of the early 2000s fan (and personal) favorite Code Red, with just a touch more citrus flare than I recall from Code Red, which favors the cherry. I imagine that side by side, there may be some additional nuance that comes out, but I’m not sure how much more gummy flavor can be injected into an already potent sweet mix like the foundation of Dew. In the same breath, it does taste remarkably like the yellow and red Trolli gummy worm, so it’s also quite accurate.

Regardless of whether this is a sneaky re-skin or not, it’s a close enough and tasty enough comp for a SKU whose zero sugar version is nowhere to be found in my area. As someone who tries to avoid full sugar drinks, I’m really enjoying this zero sugar Trolli Dew. It is a super sweet, almost-too-much-but-just-enough type of soda that is unique but familiar enough that I can absolutely see myself buying a 12-pack of cans and having no issue finishing it over the course of spooky season.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 20 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bottle) 15 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze

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Update: It appears, as of early September 2025, this is no longer on the menu. I had it mid-August, but didn’t get a chance to write a review until later, and didn’t realize it was gone. I’ll post this review anyway, in case it comes back.

Here we are in Autumn 2025, and there’s no sign of my beloved Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Instead, the only dark purple Dew available during this Halloween season is Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight. Boo! Not ghost “boo.” Disapproval, “boo.”

Unfortunately, both times I went to Taco Bell to try the new exclusive Dew, there was no syrup available. The Baja Midnight soda spigot just spewed clear carbonated water, and I had to settle for Baja Blast to wash down a Crunchwrap Supreme and my sadness that was as dark as the Baja Midnight I was supposed to have in my cup. However, as a consolation prize, I ended up with Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze.

Looking at the purple slush made me sad about not having Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Or maybe I’m experiencing some SAD (Slushie Affective Disorder) that’s caused by having to get the slush form of a Dew I wanted. Whatever I was feeling, this Freeze didn’t thaw my mood.

Baja Midnight is a Dew with passionfruit flavoring, which, if you’re keeping track at home, sounds precisely like Baja Passionfruit Punch that came out in 2023, which was also purple in color. Looking back at my review of it, I gave it a solid 7 rating. I can’t remember what it tasted like, which means it was either forgettable or I’m getting forgettable.

If Baja Midnight and Baja Passionfruit Punch are identical twins separated at birth, then maybe I didn’t care for Baja Passionfruit Punch as much as I thought I did. It had a decent tart passionfruit flavor with hints of citrus. But there was also a weird, floral-like aftertaste with the citrusy punch at the back end. But that floral flavor eventually went away the more I drank it. But whatever I was tasting didn’t wow me, and if given the choice between it and Baja Blast to wash down my Taco Bell meal and sadness, I’d prefer Baja Blast.

I guess it’s safe to say Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze is not my cup of MounTEAn Dew. Oh, it’s not safe because I shoved “tea” in Mountain Dew, and you’re not impressed with that wordplay? Well then, you have now experienced the same disappointment I had with this Freeze.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 51 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Trolli Limited Edition Mountain Dew Sour Brite Crawlers

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If you’ve been waiting for your chance to “DO THE DEW” and “DO THE WORM” simultaneously (I wish I could take credit for this tagline, but alas, it’s ripped straight from the Mountain Dew website), you’d best slither on over to a package of the new limited edition Trolli x Mountain Dew Sour Brite Crawlers.

These candy critters aren’t the only option to fulfill all of your Dewy/wormy desires—this fruitful (ha) partnership also includes a Zero Sugar Cherry-Lemon soda—but I’m not opening that can of gummy worms today, so I’ll focus on this wriggly business.

As soon as I opened my pack, I was rewarded with a scent cloud that was certainly Mountain Dew-esque. The worms come in three flavors: the green Original Citrus, the red Original Citrus Cherry, and the blue Original Citrus Blue Raspberry.

You may, like me, be disappointed to note that there’s nary a “Code Red” or “Voltage” in sight—the savvy shopper suspects that this decision was made to broaden the pool of potential buyers to those who may be interested in gummies but unfamiliar with Mountain Dew’s intense yet vague naming conventions and while that is a bit of a bummer for Dewhards like Yours Dewly, fair enough. (What I can’t forgive as readily is the omission of Baja Blast, but maybe that’s another marketing thing—I concede that “Original Citrus Tropical Lime” does have a weird ring to it.)

Of course, I had to try the OG flavor first, and my verdict was… yeah, that tastes like what a Mountain Dew-flavored sour gummy worm should taste like! It starts with a burst of mild sourness that quickly recedes into sweetness, with a bright, refreshing throughline of fizzy citrus-ness. I usually don’t opt for snacks much sourer than a Sour Patch Kid, and fortunately for me, these fall on the lower side of the sour scale, such that even if you’re tentative towards tart treats, you shouldn’t have much of an issue. Because of the mellow flavor, if you told me these were Sprite gummies, I would have believed it, but they’re credible as Dew too. While I noticed an oddly artificial aftertaste (how dare my sugary snacks based on a radioactively-hued soda taste artificial!?), I found that to be minimized when I took smaller bites rather than gulping down a whole worm at once.

The red and blue variants had even more intense flavors, which I would say made me enjoy them more than the green, but the tradeoff was that they didn’t strike me as especially Dew-like. Rather, they tasted like pretty generic cherry and blue raspberry slushies. Appearance- and texture-wise, all of the worms are quite satisfying—they are thick, chewy but not too hard, and somewhat stretchy, with an appealing marbled pattern. (I tried to discern whether the lighter parts and the darker parts tasted different, but as best as I could tell, the difference was purely aesthetic.)

If you’re thinking about picking these up, I suggest you Mountain Dew it; they won’t be around forever, so make like an early bird and get that worm.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 12.3 oz package
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (serving size of 5 pieces): 100 calories, 0 grams of fat, 45 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

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