Tag: Mountain Dew

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Cake-Smash

Marvo 13 Comments

Mtn Dew Cake Smash Can

Mtn Dew Cake-Smash was supposed to come out last year for Mountain Dew’s 80th birthday. But, well, you know, let’s just say it was not a year for celebrating.

And, yes, it’s a bit odd that a beverage marketed to the younger crowd is ancient.

Anyhoo, the brand International Olympic Committee-d it and released it a year after it was supposed to. There was a limited amount to purchase via Mtn Dew’s online store, which predictably sold out within a few hours.

Mtn Dew was kind enough to send samples of the “Dew with a rush of artificial cake flavor,” and after tasting it, I have to say, if Cake-Smash came out last year, it would’ve been a bright spot of 2020. Instead, it’s a 2021 highlight. Actually, it’s a top highlight of my Mtn Dew drinking years.

If you ever get a chance to try it, you’ll probably say something that involves an expletive. Because, holy expletive, this tastes like lemon cake with frosting, and it is Y-U-M-M-I-E. I mean, it’s so good that it makes me forget how to spell.

Mtn Dew Cake Smash Glass

Although it doesn’t specifically say “birthday cake,” it was created to celebrate a birthday. So I assumed, like with birthday cake-flavored products, it would be either vanilla or chocolate cake. Of course, that was stupid because it’s a Dew, after all. Despite not being what’s considered “birthday cake” in the processed foods universe, I have to say Mtn Dew Cake-Smash captures cake flavor better than most “birthday cake” products.

I don’t know if this will ever make it into brick-and-mortar stores. But I’m going to suggest that it should, and not because I want to make a soda cake with it.

Even though I got samples, I think Cake-Smash is so wonDEWrful that I’m seriously considering spending more than one should on a six-pack on eBay. Or I could just copy and paste the following and direct it to Mtn Dew’s social media accounts every single day until Cake-Smash is in stores.

Hey @MountainDew! Don’t be a Dew Dew Head! Let me buy Cake-Smash in stores!

Childish? Yes. Will I get blocked by Mtn Dew on social media? Probably. Will I be put on a blacklist that prevents me from getting free Mtn Dew samples from now on? Probably. Is Mtn Dew Cake-Smash worth the effort? Oh, most definitely. It’s DEWlightful.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 16 fl oz can
Purchased at: Received from Mtn Dew
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 220 calories, 0 grams of fat, 75 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 58 grams of sugar, 58 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Baja Flash and Baja Punch

Marvo 6 Comments

Mtn Dew Baja Flash and Baja Punch Cans

Mtn Dew is not only good at making caffeinated fruity sodas, but it’s also good at giving those caffeinated fruity flavored beverages unique names. Think of all the Dew varieties that have ever existed and their names. Beyond Pitch Black and Pitch Black II and the Game Fuel offerings, there haven’t been many that reuse monikers.

But the popular Baja Blast now has to share its first name with new varieties — Baja Flash and Baja Punch.

With it being a pineapple coconut-flavored Dew, I’m surprised Baja Flash wasn’t called Baja Colada. Because it didn’t, I wondered if Mtn Dew was hesitant to give the soda a boozy-sounding name, but then remembered that time it offered its Spiked Lemonade line, Dew Shine, and Johnson City Gold. Also, I would’ve preferred Baja Colada because Baja Flash sounds like it would be a better name for a dune buggy.

Mtn Dew Baja Flash Closeup

As I poured some into my glass, I could smell the sweet coconut more than the golden fruit. Also, the pineapple isn’t as prevalent as the coconut when it comes to taste, but its flavor seems to stick out more in the aftertaste. The coconut might turn off some folks, but I dug it.

Pineapple isn’t new to the DEWniverse. There’s the pineapple-flavored Maui Burst, which is one of my all-time favorite Dew varieties. This isn’t as great as Maui Burst, but it’s a fine tasting Dew.

One last thing. While drinking it, one adjective that came to mind was creamy. There’s nothing creamy texture-wise, it drinks like any other soda, but the coconut flavor has me thinking it. Maybe my mind is too occupied with building a dune buggy called Baja Flash to think straight.

Mtn Dew Baja Punch Closeup

While I have no alternative names for Baja Punch, there’s a possibility that its name is a new one for Mtn Dew Solar Flare, which was a 7-Eleven fountain exclusive way back in 2014. Or it could be another name for Mtn Dew Southern Shock, a Bojangles exclusive last year. Both also are described as Dew with a tropical punch flavor. Oddly, I didn’t try either one, but Baja Punch does taste familiar to me.

When I first opened it, I smelled mango. After pouring it into the glass, I smelled pineapple. But when I drink it, I get a bit of cherry and something citrusy that could be pineapple. It’s definitely tropical punch flavored. Again, it reminds me of another Dew flavor, but I’m not sure which one. It also tastes less sweet than Baja Flash, but again, my mind might be distracted by thoughts of dune buggies.

Overall, Baja Punch is tasty, but my taste buds prefer Baja Flash.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay on eBay
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Baja Flash), 7 out of 10 (Baja Punch)
Nutrition Facts: (12 fl oz) Baja Flash – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar, 44 grams of added sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine. Baja Punch – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar, 44 grams of added sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 54 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Rise Energy

Marvo 6 Comments

MtnDewRiseCans1

MtnDewRiseCans2

Update 2/11/22: We tried the Cherry Lime Lift flavor! Click here to read our review.

Remember when Mtn Dew Kickstart debuted back in 2013? I do because there was a little hubbub about it being marketed as a morning soda, causing, I imagine, nutritionists across the country to roll their eyes. Oh, I also remember because I reviewed the first two flavors.

Although they had around 80 milligrams of caffeine, they weren’t considered energy drinks because, according to Mtn Dew, they didn’t have the same ingredients, like guarana and taurine.

Well, Mtn Dew Kickstart is getting some inter-brand competition from new Mtn Dew Rise, which ARE energy drinks marketed to be consumed, as you can guess from its name and some of the flavors available, in the morning. While they’re energy drinks, they also don’t contain guarana and taurine. But they do have zinc and vitamin C to help support immune function, and citicoline, which, combined with caffeine, helps improve concentration.

Speaking of stimulants, a can of Rise has 180 milligrams of caffeine, which, I believe, is the most in a single-serve Mtn Dew product. As someone who likes Monster and Rockstar energy drinks with triple-digit caffeine levels, I appreciate all that sweet, sweet caffeine.

The line has SIX varieties —- Tropical Sunrise, Peach Mango Dawn, Berry Blitz, Pomegranate Blue Burst, Orange Breeze, and Strawberry Melon Spark. While these names sound exciting, I should mention that if you’re a consumer of all Dew, or a conDEWmer, if you will, many of these will taste familiar to you.

MtnDewRiseTropical

Let’s start with my favorite, the pineapple-flavored Tropical Sunrise. I prefer it over another pineapple energy drink introduced this year — Monster Energy’s Ultra Gold. While the Monster offering has 15 fewer calories and no sugar, Tropical Sunrise has just 25 calories, 4 grams of sugar, a more robust fruitiness, and 30 more milligrams of caffeine. This also brings up memories of one of my favorite Dew varieties — Maui Burst.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) – 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 4 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, 0 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

MtnDewRisePeachMango

Two flavors I like equally, but not as much as Tropical Sunrise, are Peach Mango Dawn and Strawberry Melon Spark. The former has a pleasant, but artificial peach aroma and flavor with mango lingering in the background. I’ve never had a peach mango beverage before, but now that I’ve had one, I need to try more.

MtnDewRiseStrawMelon

Strawberry Melon Spark is a combination of strawberry and watermelon. It tastes familiar to me, not only because of the delicious, recently released Mtn Dew Major Melon, but because of SuperNova, the strawberry melon-flavored Dew that came out in 2008 as part of the DEWmocracy campaign to determine the next permanent variety. It was my favorite of the three flavors participating, but it didn’t win. That honor went to Voltage.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Peach Mango Dawn), 8 out of 10 (Strawberry Melon Spark)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) Peach Mango Dawn – 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 4 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, 0 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein. Strawberry Melon Spark – 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, 0 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

MtnDewRisePomBlue

MtnDewRiseBerryBlitz

Speaking of Voltage, I swear the Pomegranate Blue Burst one tastes like it. I was expected a bit more tartness from the pomegranate, but the sweet blueberry flavor tempers it. Berry Blitz tastes like it has blue raspberry with maybe a bit of blueberry. It has an almost cotton candy-like aroma and taste, which is also what I wrote when I reviewed Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Berry Blast. Samesies?

Rating: 7 out of 10 (Pomegranate Blue Burst), 7 out of 10 (Berry Blitz)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) – 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, 0 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

MtnDewRiseOrange

Orange Breeze, as you can guess from its name, is orange-flavored. It’s the only Rise variety that has juice concentrate from the fruit it’s supposed to taste like. (The others get their juice from white grape juice concentrate.) The orange flavor is decent and has a slight sourness. This is the only one that tastes morning-appropriate, so I guess you can replace your OJ with OB as part of your balanced breakfast.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of sugar, 0 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

All six varieties use acesulfame potassium and sucralose as sweeteners to bring down the total sugar levels. Even though there’s not much of it (5 percent), the juice does help these from completely tasting like diet drinks. Also, because they’re not overly sweet or syrupy, they’re easy to drink.

With the caffeine content hitting triple digits and decent to good flavors, Mtn Dew Rise might be a better way to kickstart your day than Mtn Dew Kickstart.

Purchased Price: $24.99
Size: 12-count, 6-flavor sampler pack
Purchased at: Amazon

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Major Melon

Marvo 7 Comments

Mtn Dew Major Melon Bottle

Watermelon is known as a summer fruit because it grows best when the weather is warm. So the season is also when we see watermelon-flavored products hit the shelves and then disappear when it gets cold. But I don’t restrict the showing of my legs to just the summer months, so the same should be said for watermelon-flavored products.

But some brands have moved away from summer releases. Last year, we saw Red Bull Watermelon in February and Monster Ultra Watermelon in September. So here we are in winter, and there’s a new, season-be-damned watermelon-flavored beverage — Mtn Dew Major Melon. It’s a permanent variety, so it’ll be available year-round, like the viewing of my legs.

Its aroma evokes memories of sitting under the hot sun, sweat rolling down every inch of my body, wondering if I should reapply sunscreen, and taking a whiff of a previous Dew flavor that smells just like Major Melon. I can’t quite put my nose on which of the gazillion Dew varieties it is, though.

However, while it smells similar to another, its flavor is definitely a different Dew, and it’s fabulous. My tongue notices the citrus first, and then the watermelon follows soon after. It’s pleasantly sweet, but, and this might just be me, it’s not as cloying as other Dew varieties. There aren’t any artificial sweeteners in it, only HFCS, so I’m not sure why it tastes that way to me. The soda also has a mild tartness, so don’t think of it having a bold sour watermelon taste.

My first sip of Major Melon was like the initial swigs I had of Mountain Dew Code Red and Maui Burst, which left me thinking, “I’m definitely going to overDEW it with this Dew.” Although, if I’m ranking flavors, this would be slightly below Code Red and Maui Burst.

Mtn Dew Major Melon and Zero Sugar Cans

Major Melon is also available in a Zero Sugar version, but I’m less enamored with it. It’s okay, but its watermelon flavor mixed with the artificial sweeteners makes it taste a bit floral. The sugar-free soda’s flavor also reminds me of non-carbonated, sugar-free watermelon beverages I’ve had.

Overall, the HFCS-sweetened version of Mtn Dew Major Melon is a major success, but not so much with the Zero Sugar one.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 oz bottle and 12 oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Regular), 6 out of 10 (Zero Sugar)
Nutrition Facts: (12 ounces) Major Melon – 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein. Zero Sugar – 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition 2020 Mtn Dew VooDEW

Marvo 51 Comments

Limited Edition 2020 Mtn Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor

SPOILER ALERT!!!

If you don’t want to know what the 2020 edition of Mtn Dew VooDEW tastes like, since it’s a mystery flavor, I’d suggest you do not scroll down. Although, there’s an excellent chance what my taste buds think is absolutely wrong. Because last year’s Mtn Dew VooDEW mystery was revealed to be candy corn, which many drinkers didn’t guess correctly.

But if you still want to know what this year’s Mtn Dew VooDEW could be, follow the list of Mtn Dew VooDEW’s ingredients, which give no hints to what it could be.

Carbonated water.

High fructose corn syrup.

Citric acid.

Natural and artificial flavor.

Sodium benzoate.

Gum arabic.

Caffeine.

Sodium citrate.

Glycerol ester of rosin.

Calcium disodium EDTA.

Sucrose.

Acetate isobutyrate.

Limited Edition 2020 Mtn Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor Closeup

So I understand VooDEW’s opaque white color helps with the mysteriousness. Kind of a hint when there’s color involved. I also think the cloud-like hue makes it look like there’s a ghost in a glass. Though, a clear DEW would’ve been even more mystery-like. That’s something PepsiCo should look into next year. Let me know what you think, PepsiCo. Even though I’m pretty sure no one there will read this. So that’s what this year’s VooDEW tastes like to me.

Oh, I didn’t share my guess, you say? As I’ve done with previous mystery flavors, it’s hidden in the paragraph above using the simplest cryptography.

Even though I think it tastes (and smells) like what I’ve hidden in the paragraph above, I’m probably wrong. Because some folks believed last year’s VooDEW flavor was what I think this year’s is. Since 2019’s version ended up being candy corn, I imagine this one is also supposed to be something sweet related to the fall season. Maybe it’s Candied Yams Dew, Pumpkin Pie Dew, or Caramel Apple Dew, and my taste buds are completely broken.

Whatever the flavor ends up being, it’s wonderful. Although, if this was in a blank can, I wouldn’t be able to tell it’s a Mountain Dew variety. It’s definitely worth trying if you love mysteries or the particular food item I believe it tastes like.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay for a can of soda
Size: 12 oz can
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.