Before we begin today’s edition of “Here’s Another Crazy New Mtn Dew”, I want to pass along some positive vibes and best regards to the Mtn Dew Drinkers Discord Server. I’ve made some great Dew friends over there, and if you want to join a nutty bunch of crazies obsessed with the Dew as much as we are here at America’s Favorite Soda Blog, check them out sometime. Thanks guys!
Another season has arrived, which means it’s time for another Mtn Dew flavor to be released into the world in order to inflame the senses and drain the wallet. Mtn Dew Maui Burst released earlier this month, but not without some unusual caveats. For one, it’s only available in a single 16 oz can. For two, it’s only available at Dollar General stores in the United States. If you’re from another country or blissfully unaware of what a Dollar General is, think of it as a discounted bargain grocery store…which my region is chock full of. These stipulations made finding the product a little challenging from the start, among other variables. By nature, Dollar Generals are unpredictable in their management, and the release of an exclusive soda was going to be shaky depending on your location. For me however, we can consider ourselves lucky. Going for $1 each, I picked up an armful of cans from each of the three stores in town, and set back for the TehBen labs to take an overview.
They spent a lot of time on the can label design for this one, and this attention to detail pays off. Dollar General stores are notoriously cramped and overstocked (and smell kinda weird), but eyeballing the display and/or drinks refrigerator was made simple by this attractive can design. The flavor promise this time was a bit more straight forward than other releases in 2019. Rather than a million flavors mixed together or some crazy mystery, the can claims that it contains a simple “Dew with a blast of pineapple flavor.” Nice and concise. So how does it taste?
I take great pleasure in drinking out of a 16oz “tall boy” can, but Mtn Dew can be a little much to drink entirely in one sitting. Despite not being able to reseal the can, I decided to give it a shot while working the day job at my desk. The smell is distinctly pineapple, and the taste follows up on that nicely. Fruit flavored sodas typically have a hard time getting around the sickly sweet taste that leaves both my mouth disgusting and my day ruined. For the Dew however, the fruit taste was smooth with just the right amount of fizz. Think of it as a Fanta or Crush Pineapple that’s been done the right way. But while smooth, it’s still Mtn Dew… so prepare to take a voyage.
To be honest it’s quite odd to talk about a flavor of Mtn Dew with the association of an actual fruit. Think about most every Dew you’ve ever tried. How many times has an actual fruit been involved? Typically the sensations are about color, feeling, nuclear fission, or lightning bolts compounding up your trumpet. What’s puzzling is that this sensation is still there, combined with the smooth taste of a real-ish fruit flavor. I’m still getting the jittery tweaking that comes with 59 grams of sugar and 74mgs of caffeine, but I’m further being told to relax TO THE EXTREME on the beach with a nice glass of fizzy drink. It’s a combination of relaxation with CHARGED UP DEW and that can be a hurdle to get over if you’re ill-prepared or sensitive to caffeine. One thing we here at the TehBen labs are always prepared for is alcohol consumption.
For Maui Burst, any clear liquor would most certainly work well. A quick shot of white rum and I was good to go for the evening. As usual, high octane sugar with hard liquor is a fool’s game, so for the love of God take it easy when trying these out. After showing the can to my editor, he’s already put together a shopping list of Bacardi Solara and Cointreau to mix with it, so maybe we’ll check back in with him when he gets his hands on a few cans and the proper ingredients.
Verdict: Mtn Dew Maui Burst is a duality of a soda pop that presents two distinct experiences held within the same can. The attractive packaging, pleasant smell and smooth fruit flavor of pineapple makes for a relaxing front half of the drink…while the classic Mtn Dew CHARGED UP JITTER RUSH is uncompromised with high levels of sugar and caffeine. As a brief aside, it’s nice to finally see an honest “0% Juice” displayed directly on the can, not making a false claim of real flavor with some 1% BS that’s grown popular in the market. For all its gimmicks, Mtn Dew has greatly improved their special release flavors, and each one so far in 2019 has been both a pleasure and an adventure. While my editor takes his shopping cart into the liquor store for future mixes, I’ll be gently shaking on my imaginary beach with a nice tall glass of this soothing liquid uranium.
Matt is a part time Mtn Dew test subject and a full time elf herder. Whenever he’s not trying to force Bloppy into the euthanization cage, he can be found on Twitter or Instagram doing some cool shit with alcohol and rubber bands.
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