Mountain Dew
A citrus-flavored, highly caffeinated carbonated soft drink.
Origin
Knoxville, Tennessee, created in the 1940s by brothers Barney and Ally Hartman, originally as a lemon-lime whiskey mixer.
History
Barney and Ally Hartman, bartenders in Knoxville, developed Mountain Dew's original formula in the 1940s specifically as a mixer meant to improve the taste of whiskey, a clear, highly carbonated lemon-lime soda quite similar to 7 Up at the time, with no caffeine and none of the neon color the brand later became known for. They debuted it commercially in 1946 with an intentionally rustic "hillbilly" marketing campaign, and the name itself borrowed a long-standing Appalachian slang term for moonshine. Beverage chemist Bill Bridgforth reworked the formula in 1958, resolving carbonation problems and helping set the stage for the citrus-forward, caffeinated soda the brand eventually became after PepsiCo acquired it in 1964.
Flavor profile
Bright, sweet citrus flavor with notable caffeine and an intense, syrupy sweetness in its modern form.
Tasting notes
A punchy, sweet citrus flavor with more caffeine and a bolder profile than a standard lemon-lime soda, occasionally used as a novelty or high-caffeine mixer given its origins as a whiskey mixer in the first place.
Substitutes
- Lemon-lime soda, for a milder, less caffeinated substitute.
- A different citrus energy drink, for a comparably bold, caffeinated substitute.
- Ginger ale, for a different but comparably bright, carbonated mixer.