REVIEW: Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning

/ / Reviews / 14 Comments

Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning KFC Exclusive

What is Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning?

The marketing materials describe this latest Mountain Dew concoction as having a “sweet peach and smooth honey” flavor, a description which seemingly does its best to match the drink’s shockingly bright orange hue.

How is it?

Well, it definitely is sweet. It’s far more toothaching than any recent Dew flavors, at least since the holidays. As a plus, the Sweet Lightning doesn’t have the Robitussin DM-lite accents that those Christmas ones did.

Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning KFC Exclusive Closer Up

While, admittedly, it’s a little difficult to pinpoint either the peach or honey flavors over the first couple of gulps, to be honest, at first I thought I was drinking some sort of European tangerine drink and walked over to the machine to double-check. Eventually, though, when you know what to feel around in the back of your mouth for, its shocking sweetness actually provides some much needed balm for those customers snacking on KFC’s salty poultry, or, God forbid, its moderately hot chicken items.

Is there anything else you need to know?

In case you couldn’t guess, Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning is available exclusively at Kentucky Fried Chicken and its soda fountains for — say it with me now — a limited time only. Additionally, did you know that KFC doesn’t offer a small size for its drinks? I just learned that as I forked over two bucks for a medium.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning KFC Exclusive Close Up

Mtn Dew is doing its very best to appeal to those with a sweet tooth in the KFC audience that aren’t digging into the new Cinnabon Dessert Biscuits — oh boy, myself included — with this fun summertime flavor that manages to combine two disparate tastes into what, at first sip, tastes like neither.

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Unavailable.

Click here for our previous reviews

REVIEW: Dr Pepper Dark Berry

/ / Reviews / 9 Comments

Dr Pepper Dark Berry

What is Dr Pepper Dark Berry?

Dr Pepper’s 23 flavors has added another – the ominous “Dark Berry,” which is inspired by the upcoming independent arthouse film, “Spider-man: Far From Home.”

WARNING – This review contains SPOILERS!

Relax, one guy who hasn’t seen Avengers: Endgame yet, I’m just reviewing a soda.

How is it?

To me, it smells like Dr Pepper with a drop of Robitussin – a mix of everyone’s two favorite syrups, corn and cough.

Dr Pepper Dark Berry in Glass

I had a hard time even deciding if it tasted more than just a sweeter regular Dr Pepper, but the linger of the “fruit” additive started to take over. It was definitely “berry,” but which?

The answer, while not in the ingredients, can be easily found online, I just wanted to guess first.

I locked in on possibly blueberry…and black cherry?

SPOILER ALERT – Spider-man kills Than…Relax, that one guy, I’m just messing with you.

The titular “dark berries” are blackberry, black currant, and black cherry.

I hate to be swayed, but it made perfect sense. I realized it tasted like three-parts Dr Pepper mixed with one-part Cherry Coke, or like one of those old-timey Boylan’s style Black Cherry sodas you always see in Jewish Delis and trendy bagel joints.

So, while it’s not really that “far from” regular Dr Pepper’s normal flavor, it’s still worth a few sips.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Dr Pepper Dark Berry Ticket Deal

While I’ve seen some Spidey characters (particularly Mysterio for obvious reasons) popping up on promotional cans, I managed to buy the lamest bottle ever. Although, there is a movie ticket deal on the label, so that’s kinda cool.

Conclusion:

Dark Berry is the Andrew Garfield of Dr Pepper flavor variants. It’s still pretty good, but probably too saccharine, and will ultimately be forgotten. There have been superior Spider-men and Dr Peppers.

I look forward to Mr. Pibb’s collaboration with DC.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 20 fl. oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bottle) 260 calories, 0 grams of fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbohydrates, 70 grams of sugar, and less than 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sprite Lymonade

/ / Reviews / 21 Comments

Sprite Lymonade

Sprite Lymonade is the classic lemon and lime-flavored Sprite mixed with some lemonade. Okay, not exactly lemonade because the beverage itself isn’t an ingredient. It gets its elevated citrus flavor from, according to the bottle, clarified lemon juice from concentrate. I imagine Sprite Clarified Lemon Juice From Concentrate would’ve been a horrible product name.

It has ONE PERCENT real juice. And, somewhere, Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel is laughing because it’s made with five percent juice, which is still not a lot, but much more than this.

It tastes like a cloudy Sprite that’s ever so slightly more lemony than the original. It’s definitely not carbonated lemonade, and it’s definitely not just Sprite. If you like the classic lemon-lime soda, I imagine you’ll also enjoy this because it isn’t a dramatic change from the original.

The “lemonade” portion tastes the part, adding a little more lemon flavor and sourness, but thankfully it isn’t as sour as a test batch made by aspiring young first-time lemonade stand proprietors.

Like with all Sprite varieties, it has no caffeine. Seriously, Coca-Cola, if you want to sell a little more of your popular drink, make one with caffeine. People love Sprite. People love caffeine. Do the math. I know you’ve probably done it in the lab, and the caffeine messes with the crisp, clean lemon-lime flavor, but I’d buy more if it had some. No pressure, Coca-Cola.

Sprite Lymonade is crisp, refreshing, citrusy, and any other adjective used to describe a good lemon-lime soda, but to be frank, it’s an unexciting variation. We have cherry, cranberry, and whatever Sprite flavors are available at Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers, so pardon me if I feel this is a little boring, I mean, in Sprite spelling, boryng.

Purchased Price: Way too much from someone on eBay
Size: 20 fl. oz. bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 220 calories, 0 grams of fat, 110 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 57 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola

/ / Reviews / 30 Comments

Orange Vanilla Coca Cola

What is Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola?

As the first new flavor of Classic Coca-Cola to be released stateside in over ten years, Orange Vanilla Coke sets itself apart by combining smooth vanilla and bright orange flavors with the cola’s nostalgic original blend.

How is it?

Let me set the record straight here: no flavor of Coca-Cola is terrible. The worst variation of Coke is still arguably better than anything Pepsi has ever put out. Even so, I can’t say this variation is unforgettable in the same way that some of Coke’s other products are.

Despite the drink’s creamsicle-like aroma, I thought the notes of orange and vanilla fell a bit flat on the flavor end of things. Although I could faintly detect both of them while downing my first bottle, they were no match against Coca-Cola’s distinct taste, and I felt they blended into the soda’s background a little too much for them to be the only thing setting this drink apart from Coke’s other offerings.

Orange Vanilla Coca Cola in Glass

The best way I can describe the flavor imbalance here is that it’s kind of like if you drank a glass of Orange Fanta and neglected to rinse out your cup before refilling it with Coke. You can still taste the Fanta, but it’s not the focus of what’s now in the cup, and it clearly tastes like something that wasn’t an original part of the soda.

Is there anything else you should know?

Although adding orange and vanilla to Coca-Cola sounds simple, the company spared no expense in testing this product before adding it into its official lineup. After being successfully test-marketed in Canada last summer, it’s been stuck in R&D to fine-tune its flavor and advertising campaign before hitting American shelves just in time for March Madness.

Conclusion:

While Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola isn’t going to rock the soda industry, it’s a decent enough addition to Coke’s family of Classics. I recommend giving it a shot if you happen to come across a bottle but don’t go out of your way to track one down.

Purchased Price: $3.33
Size: 6 16.9 oz. bottles
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (16.9 oz) 200 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of total carbohydrates, 55 grams of total sugars, 55 grams of added sugars, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of dietary fiber.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel

/ / Reviews / 4 Comments

Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel

When Mtn Dew started using a variety of sweeteners to bring down the sugar levels in its newer limited edition flavors, I was fine with it. Instead of only high fructose corn syrup, the brand used a mixture of HFCS, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium.

As someone who enjoys diet soda, I didn’t mind the sweetener switch, but others shook their fists at Mtn Dew, and I just shook my head at them.

But now I’m wondering if I should shake my fists at Mtn Dew and shake my head at myself because I’m not sure I like Mtn Dew’s new Amp Game Fuel that uses the sweetener combo mentioned above.

According to its website, the new line was developed in partnership with pros and elite amateurs to create the first beverage designed just for gamers. It’s formulated with ingredients that have been shown to improve accuracy and alertness — caffeine (90 mg) and theanine. So I guess one could say it’s like the Gatorade for gamers.

The cans themselves features a tactile grip and resealable tab (more on that later). There are currently four flavors — Cherry Burst, Berry Blast, Tropical Strike, and Original Dew Destruction. Okay, actually, it’s just called “Original Dew,” but I felt bad it didn’t have a cool video game sounding name, so I gave it one.

While Amp Game Fuel’s name is a combination of other Mtn Dew lines, the actual beverage is more like another, Kickstart. They have similar consistencies. Both are not as syrupy and carbonated as the original soda, making them easier to drink.

Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel 2

As for how they taste, most of them remind me of other Dew flavors I’ve had, but diet versions of them because they have an artificial sweetener aftertaste. Drinking the Original Dew version is like chugging on a Diet Mountain Dew. The cherry one, which isn’t like a Diet Code Red, teeters on the line between medicine and beverage, which makes it my least favorite of the four. The yellow one has a nice tropical vibe that seems to be a combination of pineapple and lime. The blue one, while I know it’s berry flavored, at times reminds me of cotton candy. Because of that, it ended up being my favorite of the bunch, slightly ahead of Tropical Strike.

To be honest, when I first tried them, I didn’t care for them, and I was shaking my fist at Mtn Dew. But, because I bought a 12-can variety pack from Amazon and it doesn’t have a Costco-like return policy, I had to drink them again. Doing so made me like them a little more, even the cherry one. But they’re not good enough that I can guarantee I’ll repurchase them.

But what about my accuracy and alertness?

I’m not a gamer, but I am a writer, and accuracie and afertness are tools I need while writing and editing. Did Amp Game Fuel improve them? Sure, but I didn’t notice any difference from what I usually drink, which is coffee or whatever energy drink is on sale at 7-Eleven.

What I’m more impressed with is the resealable plastic tab. It’s simple to use and does an excellent job of preventing the carbonation from fading. It also makes me feel as if I’m flipping up the head of a Transformer with hydraulic sound effects. But the treehugger in me is wondering how recyclable the aluminum can is because the plastic tab doesn’t come off easily. The idea of these cans messing with recycling centers makes me worry.

If you’re a gamer and want to improve, this will not help you as much as in-game purchases will. If you’re a hardcore Dew fan who hates all the ace-k and sucralose going into your Dew, you will definitely shake your fist at Amp Game Fuel.

Purchased Price: $19.99
Size: 12-can variety pack
Purchased at: Amazon
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Original Dew)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Cherry Burst)
Rating: 6 ouf ot 10 (Tropical Strike)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Berry Blast)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can – all flavors) 90 calories, 0 grams of fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

Scroll to Top