Tag: Mountain Dew

REVIEW: Doritos Mountain Dew (Australia)

Rachel 5 Comments

Mountain Dew Doritos Australia Package

What are Doritos Mountain Dew?

Mountain-Dew-flavored Doritos from Australia – the land of megabats, and well, mega everything. Now they’re doing America in a big way, rolling an iconic snack combo into one product best enjoyed wearing a sleeveless flannel and cutoff shorts, in a monster truck speeding down a 2-lane road surrounded by wheat fields.

Mountain Dew Doritos Australia Soda 2

How are they?

These were far better than I expected. I figured the citrus would work – there’s already lime-flavored chips in stores that are excellent. The sweetness was the question mark – Mountain Dew is SO sweet – could they pull off the right sweet/savory combo?

It ended up working really well because of the lemon-lime, I think. It gives it the tang and mouth-puckering quality that keeps it from being ALL sweet. It also gave it a bit of the sparkle of a carbonated beverage. Not exactly the bubbly sensation, but the light, bright citric acid that’s in nearly every soda.

These were just as addictive as any chip, but the novelty of the sweet are tart flavors was extra and I loved it.

Mountain Dew Doritos Australia Chips 3

Anything else you need to know?

I’ve been told these chips DID exist in the US, back in 2008 as “Doritos Quest” mystery flavor. I completely missed those, but I would’ve paid more attention if they were called Doritos Mountain Dew. My head whipped right around this time, but “Doritos Quest” does nothing for me.

Apparently, there was also Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew called DEWitos in 2014 – tested in select colleges in the country. Comment below if you tried it!

WHY has no one here in the US of A thought to release a combo pack of Doritos Mountain Dew AND Dewitos? COME ON, AMERICA! Let’s get our heads in the junk food game here!

Mountain Dew Doritos Australia Zesty 4

Conclusion:

Try them! They’re fun, they’re weird, they taste good, and they’re AMERICA. Frito-Lay, we need these in every store here in the US!

Purchased Price: $25.00 plus shipping
Size: 80g bag
Purchased at: Desert Drinks & Exotics
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (27g) 139 calories, 6.9 grams of fat, 0.7grams of saturated fat, 0.1 gram of trans fat, 41 milligrams of sodium, 16.9 grams of carbohydrates, 2.1 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Frost Bite

Louis 3 Comments

Mtn Dew Frost Bite Bottle

What is Mtn Dew Frost Bite?

Given the bottle’s ferocious imagery of an open-mouth great white shark on the label, I was hoping this would be Mtn Dew’s entry into a revolutionary fish-flavored soda game, but, instead, it’s just a “burst of icy refreshment and cool melon.” So, I guess melon.

How is it?

Mtn Dew Frost Bite Closeup

Like most nouveau Mtn Dew flavors, this too has a taste reminiscent of a liquefied Now and Later, which, at least in my opinion, is never a bad thing. And while there is a slight taste of melon — don’t ask me what kind of melon, though — the “blue ice” flavor is extremely prevalent, even if “blue ice” isn’t a flavor found in nature.

But, still, Frost Bite has got a deeply sweet seafaring edge to it that, like the chompers on the non-mountainous mascot, will cut deeply to the bone. Or, given the soda’s oh-so high added sugar content, it might shear the white enamel off with each seriously addictive gulp. If you ever wonder what Powerade Mountain Berry Blast would taste like with a testicular death-grip, look no further.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Available for a limited time, this Mtn Dew flavor is an exclusive flavor to Walmart stores across the country. I bought it instead of toilet paper, mostly because my store was still sold out of it and probably will be for a while.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Frost Bite is a downright tawdry yet delicately tasty concoction for landlubbing tongues.

Purchased Price: $1.80
Size: 20 oz. bottle
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 76 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 76 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero

Marvo 3 Comments

Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero

Playing video games and writing have similarities.

Both involve a deep focus while staring into a screen and mashing multiple buttons in quick succession. Gaming and writing also include throwing across the room in frustration the thing that has the buttons.

Wait…that’s only me?

Last year, Mountain Dew rolled out Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel to help gamers with alertness and accuracy. This year, the brand is offering Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero, a zero sugar, zero calorie, and zero carb version of the caffeinated drink. I’m not a gamer, but I am a writer, and since I made the argument they’re alike and I love caffeine, I believe I’m qualified to review them.

There are two flavors, Watermelon and Raspberry Lemonade, and both come in cans with the same resealable tab as the original Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel. Sorry, I’ve just been told I’m legally required to use their full names — Charged Watermelon Shock and Charged Raspberry Lemonade.

Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Watermelon Shock

If you’re going to choose just one, might I suggest the latter over the former, unless you REALLY love artificial watermelon flavor. I mean, it’s a perfectly fine flavor, it’s not as sweet as candy, and it smells better than Charged Raspberry Lemonade, but it’s not the flavor I’d drink again.

Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade

That honor goes to, obviously since it’s the only other flavor I’m writing about in this review, Charged Raspberry Lemonade. Although, for some reason, my taste buds and brain occasionally think they’re drinking a raspberry iced tea. Maybe it’s because the berry flavor reminds me of the Lipton Brisk Raspberry and the lemon flavor, which doesn’t really pop that much, makes me think of lemon iced tea. Well, whatever it tastes like – raspberry lemonade or raspberry iced tea – I prefer it over the watermelon one.

In order to make this zero sugar, zero calorie, and zero carb version, an artificial sweetener arsenal of sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium is used. It’s noticeable in the watermelon one, but significantly less so with the other one.

Both flavors provide 90 milligrams of sweet caffeine, which isn’t a lot in today’s world that has energy drinks of the same size that offer over 200 milligrams. But I found myself getting a boost from them. Your results may vary.

Both Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero flavors are decent zero sugar energy drinks, but, unlike gaming and writing, it’s hard to equally compare them with the recent zero sugar energy drinks from Monster and Rockstar. Those tickle my taste buds with better flavors that don’t really taste like they’re sugar free, plus they have more caffeine.

Purchased Price: $1.79 each
Size: 16 fl. oz. cans
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Charged Watermelon Shock), 7 out of 10 (Charged Raspberry Lemonade)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 75 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, 20% vitamin A, 40% niacin, 40% vitamin B6, and 40% pantothenic acid.

REVIEW: Mountain Dew Zero Sugar

Mike 7 Comments

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar

What is Mountain Dew Zero Sugar?

PepsiCo has released Mountain Dew Zero Sugar, a new formulation with 0 calories and 0 sugar. Wait, what’s going on here? Isn’t there already Diet Mountain Dew?

Calorie and sugar-conscious consumers may have noticed some weirdness with the calorie counts for various sizes of Diet Mountain Dew. A 12-ounce can will have 0 calories, but larger serving sizes will have 5, or even 10 calories.

This is because the FDA requires companies to round to the nearest 5 calories, with anything below 5 calories per serving able to be stated as 0. If these calories and carbs have been a barrier from choosing PepsiCo’s citrus soda, this is the Dew for you.

How is it?

The question of Mountain Dew Zero Sugar isn’t how it compares to regular Mountain Dew, but how it stands next to Diet Dew. To test this, I poured a sample of each and carefully considered their attributes.

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Comparison

The color is identical, though I detected a slightly sharper citrus scent in the Zero Sugar sample. I take a sip of each, being sure to aspirate the beverage and thereby allowing the aerosolized droplets to fully coat my palate. This reveals the samples to have very similar flavors. There’s a rounder flavor to the original Diet Dew, with Zero Sugar once again being a bit more acidic. I suspect the small amount of concentrated orange juice in the original formula accounts for this.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Closeup

My careful organoleptic analysis revealed some subtle differences that will be clear to the mindful drinker. The flaw here is that no one actually sips Mountain Dew. No, Mountain Dew is meant to be chugged while snowboarding down some sick powder, brah, or perhaps while pwning some n00bs in Call of Duty.

I would’ve liked to replicate those conditions, but I can’t snowboard and am terrible at competitive video games. Instead, I slammed down a glass of each while playing Death Stranding and as a snow plow added to the grey pile of slush in front of my driveway.

They taste the same.

Conclusion:

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar succeeds at removing an obstacle for calorie and sugar-conscious drinkers from Doing the Dew without sacrificing Diet Dew’s flavor.

Purchased Price: $2.68
Size: 16.9 oz (6 bottles)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10

Nutrition Facts: 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mountain Dew Maui Burst

Marvo 5 Comments

Mountain Dew Maui Burst

I’ve openly expressed my desire for a pineapple-flavored Mountain Dew for years to anyone who would listen and to stationary objects. I’ve thought about how it would look, smell, and taste. And I’ve dreamed about what would happen if that Dew became a reality. I imagined celebrating by slow dancing with a giant pineapple, squeezing it hard with so much joy that it explodes and makes it rain pineapple juice.

Well, I’m ready for my dance, giant pineapple! And that violent fruit dream is the reason why I don’t eat spicy pineapple salsa before going to sleep anymore.

Mountain Dew Maui Burst is currently an exclusive variety at Dollar General. Its can describes it as, “Dew with a blast of pineapple flavor. With other natural flavors.”

Mountain Dew Maui Burst Can Closeup

But before I get into how it tastes, I’m pretty sure many of you Dew Dew Heads, like myself, are wondering what kind of sweeteners are used. Well, I’m happy to report it’s good ol’ high fructose corn syrup, and that’s it. No sucralose. No acesulfame potassium. No stevia. No aspartame. No saccharin. No mogrosides. No beet sugar. No sugar alcohols. No cane sugar. Just H-F-C and S.

What I can detect with my nose and taste buds is that the pineapple is the star of the show, while the citrus Dew flavors take a backseat. Maui Burst’s flavor is like what I imagined it would be — a Mountain Dew that tastes like it’s been mixed with some pineapple juice. It’s simple, but I love it.

For me, it has easily jumped into my top five favorite Dew varieties of all time, which include Pitch Black, Code Red, and, of course, the original one. Also, I imagine this would go great with some Taco Bell.

Although I think it’s wonderful, I can see how some might feel the pineapple is a little too heavy-handed, like they’ve bear-hugged a giant pineapple while dancing with it, causing it to explode, and making it rain juice into their open mouths.

Mountain Dew Maui Burst Closeup

In my pre-Maui Burst dreams, I thought a pineapple Dew would be bright yellow. Fortunately, for Mtn Dew’s social media person, who would’ve been blasted with thousands of notifications with the word “pee” in them, it’s not. Instead, it’s a lighter shade of regular Mtn Dew.

Again, it’s a Dollar General exclusive, and, unfortunately, there are no Dollar General stores in Hawaii (hence the reason why I bought it on eBay). So folks on the island of Maui can’t get their hands on Mtn Dew Maui Burst, which is sad because it’s a great flavor.

Purchased Price: Too much on eBay
Size: 16 fl. oz. can
Purchased at: Dollar General
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (16 fl. oz.) 220 calories, 0 grams of fat, 75 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 59 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.