REVIEW: Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark

Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle

What is Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark?

It’s a Dew with a burst of raspberry lemonade flavor, and it’s an exclusive Speedway flavor. The label features a drawing of a crazed race car. It’s a fitting image for a convenience store named Speedway, which is what car racing tracks are called. I also imagine that a crazed race car with a mouth is also something someone who takes speed way too much would hallucinate.

How is it?

Its aroma reminds me of a pack of Starburst, and its flavor brings another Mtn Dew to mind — Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade. (And maybe Voltage?)

In my Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero review, I wrote, “…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.”

With Mtn Dew Spark, the berry part still reminds me of Lipton Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea, but the flavor and tang of the lemonade stand out much more. There’s also a little bit of an added non-lemonade citrus taste, but it didn’t confuse me into thinking this was anything other than raspberry lemonade-flavored. It’s tasty, but I’m a little disappointed it’s kind of a recycled flavor.

Anything else you need to know?

Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle Label

Some of you might be wondering, “What’s a Speedway?” Well, **puts on reading glasses** it’s a chain of convenience stores with a few thousand locations mostly in the Midwest and East Coast. Just this month, it was purchased by the parent company that owns 7-Eleven. For more brick-and-mortar retail chain news, don’t depend on this site.

Also, there doesn’t appear to be a diet version. But if you want a beverage that tastes somewhat similar and with zero sugar, there’s Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Spark is another solid Dew offering. If you live near a Speedway store, it’s worth a purchase.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 77 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Doritos Mountain Dew (Australia)

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

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

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

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.