REVIEW: Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Dream Freeze

A small chunk of my misspent youth was… well, spent in an area of the western US known for dirty soda. If you’re not familiar with it, a dirty soda is basically soda with cream of some sort mixed in, kind of like a less frozen version of a float or an ice cream soda. Similar vibes. We usually made ours with Dr Pepper and coffee creamer.

Anyway, as of late, it seems like variations on dirty soda have been spreading beyond the area they originated from, and the Baja Blast Dream Freeze feels in line with that trend.

If you haven’t had Baja Blast, it’s a lime-forward Mountain Dew flavor created for and available at Taco Bell in both standard soda and freeze/slushy versions. The new “Dream” versions incorporate “vanilla crème.”

I actually liked this freezy, cool concoction a lot! The vanilla crème brings out the lime flavor in a really pleasant way, reminiscent of lime sherbet. It mellows out the sharper notes and rounds out the overall citrusy edge of the Dew nicely, and finishes with a nice sweet aftertaste.

The vanilla crème doesn’t change the consistency at all, which I found surprising. I expected that adding the cream in would make it, well, creamier or at least somewhat richer the way adding coffee creamer to Dr Pepper does. However, it still has the same texture as any other Taco Bell Freeze but with a nice complementary flavor enhancement.

I hope this one sticks around for a while because I’ll definitely be ordering it along with my Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco Supremes for as long as it’s available.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: Large
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 230 calories, 1 gram of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 57 grams of total sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition 2024 Mtn Dew VooDEW

Personally, I love that Mtn Dew has continued the tradition of offering a mystery flavor here in 2024.

I hope the brand never stops pumping out these flavors.

No other brand has had the creativity to keep this up for this long, with Oreo and Peeps doing it for a couple of years and then giving it up.

Keeping in line with previous VooDEW varieties, this one is also flavored like a particular candy.

So, much like all other Mtn Dew mystery flavors, the soda’s label design, ingredients list, and milky color don’t hint at what this is supposed to taste like.

Though, the label does tell us that this is the sixth VooDEW iteration with an eye inside a red number six.

Also, for those who wish every soda flavor had a zero sugar version, VooDEW 2024 has a zero sugar version, but I’m only going to cover the full sugary version in this review.

Right now, I have to say that this might be my favorite VooDEW so far, although every year has been good to great tasting.

Before I tell you what I think the mystery flavor is, I should say that it’s fruity, a tad sour, and maybe creamy, which pretty much narrows down what it could be.

Um, sorry, Snickers, Twix, M&M’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s, etc, you’ll never have a VooDEW flavor that tastes like any of you.

Really, with the first sip, I thought I was drinking a previous VooDEW that tasted like Skittles, but after taking a few more swigs, my taste buds helped me come to a definite answer.

So what do I think it is?

Take the first letter of every sentence in this review, which I’ve separated for convenience, and put them all together for my guess as to what this delicious VooDEW mystery flavor is.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 73 grams of sugar 73 (including 73 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 91 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Mtn Dew Baja Blast Gelato

Twenty years ago, I was sitting at Taco Bell after school when a guy I liked offered me a taste of his “delicious toilet bowl water” (his nickname for the drink because of its bright blue-green color). I took my first sip of the newly released Mountain Dew Baja Blast, which was unlike anything I had ever tried. The lime-tropical flavor was much more enjoyable than the traditional Mountain Dew. It was refreshing and sweet but not overly so. Baja Blast is the perfect addition to any Taco Bell meal.

To keep evolving the flavor, Taco Bell did a one-restaurant test in Southern California of a new item: Mtn Dew Baja Blast Gelato. The limited run was met with positive reactions and an announcement it would have a wide release to coincide with the soda’s 20th anniversary. The dessert is available through mobile order only to Taco Bell Rewards members, and you can order up to four.

Considering the chatter around the treat, I was half expecting Popeyes Chicken Sandwich-level chaos surrounding this drop. Instead, I showed up at an empty Taco Bell, where I was informed I was the “first person to get it.” Much to my disappointment, there was no banner or celebration of that fact.

I had a bit of sticker shock at the $4.99 price. The item was also a lot smaller than I had anticipated. I understand that 3.6 ounces isn’t much, but it wasn’t until I was handed the container that I realized how small it was. No matter. I was still very excited to try it.

Opening the package, I pulled out the purple spoon nestled into the top of the lid and removed the protective film to reveal the familiar Baja Blast color. The light, fragrant smell of the drink was the next thing I noticed. I scraped some of the top layer off and took a bite. The expected texture of gelato is creamy, dense, almost velvety smooth, but this was icy and light, more akin to Taco Bell’s frozen drinks.

I thought I was too distracted by the texture to notice the flavor, but with my next few bites, I found the flavor to be incredibly faint. It was almost like taking the last sip of a watered-down Baja Blast. I decided to let it sit out for a few minutes, and maybe it would get to its “optimal enjoyment temperature.” While this made it a little more enjoyable (less icy), it was still not the gelato experience I expected. This would have been better off marketed as a sorbet as it shared more characteristics with that frozen treat.

As much as it pains me to say, the Mtn Dew Baja Blast Gelato did not live up to the hype. The middle-of-the-road quality and light flavor didn’t justify the high price tag to me and was overall a letdown.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 3.6 oz
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 70 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 10 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Infinite Swirl

I’ve enjoyed every Dew blasted with pineapple flavor, from Maui Burst to Baja Gold. Although, I enjoyed the former more than the latter. And that adoration extends to the 7-Eleven exclusive Mtn Dew Infinite Swirl, a Dew with a blast of pineapple berry flavor.

Its Smurf blue color brings to mind other recent Dew varieties, Liberty Chill and Summer Freeze. That blue hue looks good with the soda’s yellow and red-colored label.

Infinite Swirl has a pineapple-forward taste with some berries on the back end. At first, the blue color made me think it was blue raspberry. But, as always, the label artwork gives a clue. The red ribbons with seeds on them seemed to indicate strawberries, and when I realized that, I began to taste that berry more prominently. The two flavors make a delicious fruity combination. As someone who is a fan of pineapple and strawberry-blasted Mtn Dew varieties, this is definitely a favorite. In fact, I love it as much as the Dollar General-exclusive Maui Burst, one of my favorite Mountain Dew varieties.

Unfortunately, like Maui Burst, it’s a store-exclusive product. But 7-Eleven locations (and sister stores, like Speedway and Stripes) I think are a bit more plentiful than Dollar General locations, so this might be easier to come by. (UPDATE: Did a quick Google search to fact-check, and it turns out there are as many 7-Eleven locations the US as there are Dollar General locations, which is very surprising.) Also, for those of you wondering if there’s a zero sugar version, there isn’t one at this time. But I’ll try to buy enough of it to perhaps give PepsiCo a reason to make one because this pineapple berry Dew is that good.

I hope Infinite Swirl’s time on shelves is infinite. I read that this is a permanent flavor, and I really hope that ends up being the case because it’s a DEWlicious tasting Dew.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 76 grams of carbohydrates (including 76 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 94 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Star Spangled Splash, Freedom Fusion, and Liberty Chill

Do the Dew in red, white, and blue! Woo hoo! Although one isn’t really new. Get into the Fourth of July groove!

According to their cans, Mtn Dew Star Spangled Splash (red) is a Dew with a blast of red berry, while Freedom Fusion (white) has peach and lemonade flavors, and Liberty Chill (blue) is a combination of 50 flavors. If you have an encyclopeDEWia of Dew knowledge in your head, that last one might seem familiar to you, and it should be because it’s the same description as the equally patriotic-named Liberty Brew. I get the feeling that the name change was brought upon because some folks might think with “brew” in its name, it might have alcohol since Mtn Dew has gotten into the adult beverage game.

Let’s start with Liberty Chill and its 50 flavors, which I assume represent the 50 states. If Puerto Rico and/or Washington DC become states someday, we can look forward to Dews with 51 or 52 flavors. From what I’ve read, this is just a renamed Liberty Brew. I don’t remember drinking it, but we did review it when it came out in 2019. It comes in a color that makes me want to feed it cookies and then remind it that cookies are a sometimes food. And all those 50 flavors amount to a soda that reminds me of blue raspberry with a floral finish. It’s a pleasant soda I wouldn’t mind tasting and feeding cookies to every summer.

Star Spangled Splash has a familiar Dew taste. It smells like fruit punch, and it kind of reminds me of fruit punch. There’s a noticeable cherry flavor, which Mtn Dew uses in a couple of its most popular varieties — Code Red and Game Fuel Citrus Cherry. But I also notice some strawberry, which needs to be in more Mtn Dew releases. Maybe my mind is taking the “red berry” thing a bit far. Overall, it’s good, but it isn’t really a unique-tasting Dew. If you like the other red flavors I mentioned in this paragraph, then I imagine you’ll like this.

Finally, we have my favorite of the bunch — Freedom Fusion. The Dew rumor mill (DEWmor Mill?) said there was supposed to be a peach-flavored Dew exclusively at Wawa earlier this year, but that was scrapped. Instead, the entire country gets to enjoy this peach and lemonade Dew. I’m not sure I taste the lemonade, but I do taste the peach, which reminds me of other peach drinks I’ve had. It even has a pleasant peach aroma without a hint of lemonade. There’s a slight sourness, but lemonade doesn’t come to mind when I drink this, even though it totally looks like the sugary, citrusy beverage.

If the idea of drinking 36 cans of Mtn Dew to get all three flavors is daunting, they’re also available in 20-ounce bottles. All of them are good to great and tasty beverages to help keep you cool this summer.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12 oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Star Spangled Splash), 7 out of 10 (Liberty Chill), 8 out of 10 (Freedom Fusion)
Nutrition Facts: (12 ounces) Star Spangled Splash – 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 43 grams of sugar (including 43 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 54 milligrams of caffeine. Freedom Fusion – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 43 grams of sugar (including 43 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 54 milligrams of caffeine. Liberty Chill – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 46 grams of sugar (including 46 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 56 milligrams of caffeine.