You Should Think Twice About Drinking Mountain Dew Ice. Here's Why
Mountain Dew has managed to compete with major soda brands such as Sprite and Coca-Cola, becoming one of the most popular sodas on the market today. Thrillist states that the green drink has historically had a particularly strong connection to extreme sports and video games. While this connection might deter some folks, through partnerships and its reputation for being packed with caffeine, the brand has been able to sustain a strong presence throughout the world.
The drink has a particularly engaging backstory. Invented by two brothers Barney and Ally Hartman all the way back in the 1930s, the pair were in search for a mixer for their whiskey. When they couldn't find their preferred brand anywhere, they decided to create their own drink in a lab. No kidding. When the two eventually got around to branding their drink, which they called Mountain Dew, they weren't too serious about the endeavor, and finally debuted drink at a soda convention in 1946 (via Mental Floss). Much to the surprise of the two brothers, a bottler from Tennessee was intrigued and enquired about acquiring the bottling rights for the soda, which finally hit shelves in 1951. Mountain Dew saw little success, and was sold to Tip Corporation in 1957. Luckily for soda fans everywhere, the brand struck gold after tweaking the flavor; in 1964, PepsiCo took over Tip Corporation, and with it came Mountain Dew brand. In the late-1970s, the beverage finally took off, becoming a hit among the masses.
The flavor of Mountain Dew Ice isn't great
Mountain Dew's success has steadily risen over the years, and (according to the Mountain Dew website) the brand now offers a variety of flavors, including cherry-based Code Red, the citrusy Pitch Black, the lemon-heavy Mountain Dew Ice. Though the packing looks similar, Mountain Dew Ice itself looks quite unlike its regular counterpart and is a clear color. The drink was first introduced in 2018, and is said to have a bit of actual lemon juice inside, coupled with a hefty dose of caffeine and slightly less sugar than tradition Mountain Dew (via Delish).
Unfortunately, despite looking rather promising the flavor is a huge letdown. In a Reddit post, user AlphysIsMyWaifu called the flavor a failure, writing "Ice itself, though. When I first saw it, I was excited. I bought a 12 pack of it, eager to see how good Dew's newest, coolest flavor would be. And my first impressions with it were... it's just lemon lime." The poster added that the overall flavor is "painfully underwhelming" and artificial tasting. Many Dew fans also took to Twitter to comment that was exactly like rival Sprite and was totally unimpressive (via Elite Daily). The bottom line? Just grab the original Mountain Dew or perhaps a better reviewed flavor like Code Red instead of the Ice that will, in all likelihood, disappoint.