Crafted Dark Berry Mountain Dew Black Label - Asian Food Market
We're only ten days into the new year and I'm already dead on my feet. I've got places to go, things to do, reviews to write..I don't have time to take a nap! Most people in my situation would grab a cup of coffee, or drink an energy drink, but that's a little too intense for me. Energy drinks always upset my stomach, and coffee gives me heartburn. What am I to Dew? (See what I did there?)
I was at the Asian Food Market of all places, and I just happened to see this can in the refrigerated section by the checkout. From afar, I had no idea this was actually an American Mountain Dew product, they're really stepping up their packaging game. Look at this can! No more toothless HillBilly innard-tickling ads for them! This can is gorgeous! We have a matte finish, which photographs beautifully, and a limited color palette consisting of the classic neon-Dew-green with a timeless silver. The text is a bit on the Ed Hardy-side of things, but it works with their overall "Dew the Dew" company image. (Although this kind of looks like a beer can-design to me. I could see some non-hip adults mistaking this for a boozy beverage at a glance.) I really like this direction for their design, and I could see this look being successful with an older demographic of customers.
They kept the green accents on this can to a minimum, but in my mind, all Mountain Dew beverages are an obnoxious florescent yellow-green, because that's what I grew up with. Therefore all these new colors and flavors have a whimsical property to them, simply because I don't expect them. (I've been Pavlov'd!) Even though I ultimately knew this was berry-flavored, I was still surprised to see this gorgeous red-violet liquid fill my glass.
When the glass is full, it looks like a carbonated red grape juice, or wine, and it smells like strawberry limeade. It's sweet, carbonated, and a little tangy with bold artificial strawberry-aroma mixed with some kind of citrus fruit. Something about this scent is super familiar, but I just can't place it! If it tastes anything like it smells, I'll be a happy (and hyper) camper.
I took a sip, and it tastes like Welch's strawberry soda mixed with a bunch of melted freezer popsicles. It's syrupy sweet, like all Mountain Dew products, and even though this is strawberry-heavy, it's still non-specifically fruity at the same time.
This is so hard to describe! I can definitely taste some kind of strawberry-like base, but strawberries are no where to be found on this list of ingredients! All this packaging tells me is that there are "natural and artificial flavors," along with concentrated orange and grape juice. Last time I checked, oranges and grapes weren't traditionally thought of as "berries" by the general public. (Although they actually are, while strawberries are NOT.) It's a bit of a fruity-flavored enigma, but you know what? I like it. It's enjoyable, in that super sugary soda kind of way, and I can happily drink this stuff while it's carbonated, but the second those bubbles disappear I feel like I'm drinking hummingbird nectar. (Which this IS Mountain Dew after all. This can has 53g of sugar, that's 13 sugar packets worth!)
I bought this stuff because, number 1: it's pretty, and number 2: I needed a boost of energy. This stuff did exactly what I wanted while tasting like liquid candy. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it gave me a wicked headache when I came crashing down this evening, but I very rarely drink soda, so this stuff tends to effect me more than casual soda drinkers. If you're a Mountain Dew fan, you'll love this stuff, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a little sugar to get them through the day without the gross taste of all those energy drink ingredients.
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