MTN DEW Zero Sugar
I LOVE Mountain Dew. Or is it MTN DEW? In most cases, Mtn is an abbreviation for Mountain, but we still pronounce the full word “mountain.” Either way, that citrusy soda from PepsiCo is my jam. I saw a new version of the original flavor, so I had to try it.
Pretty much every day with lunch, I have a 12 oz can of Diet MTN DEW. Yeah, I realize diet drinks aren’t great for you, but I’m more concerned about the sugar intake than the seemingly minimal effects of artificial sweeteners on my body. Plus, as I said before, I love MTN DEW. I can’t say I would go so far as to bathe in MTN DEW scented body wash, but I really like it. I’ll admit that Diet MTN DEW doesn’t taste quite exactly like the original, but the flavor is pretty close. Close enough that I’ll accept the difference in exchange for the lack of calories and sugar.
On a recent run to Walmart, I noticed three distinct shades of color from a stack of MTN DEW boxes in the center of an aisle. Curious, there are normally only two: original and diet. I did a double take and began to search for the difference. Finally, I noticed that the darkest boxes were labeled “zero sugar.” Hold up, now. I knew nothing of a zero sugar variant of MTN DEW.
While Coca-Cola isn’t my soda of choice (obviously), I do like having a glass on occasion. Unlike Diet MTN DEW, I think Diet Coke has a far inferior to original Coca-Cola. It has a bitter flavor, and I don’t really care for it. However, the advent of Coca-Cola Zero (now Coca-Cola Zero Sugar), was a joyous day for me. With the same formula as original Coca-Cola, it tastes the same, just without the sugar. Perhaps, MTN DEW Zero Sugar would replicate that same success.
I picked up a case of 24 cans. At worst, it wasn’t quite as good as the original or diet versions, and I’d just tough through it until I finished it off. At the end of the day, it’s still MTN DEW. At best, I had discovered a variant that tasted better than either existing version, with the calorie and sugar content similar to diet. It was certainly worth trying.
The next day, I had to do some research. How could I have missed this sweet nectar, as frequently as I buy cases of Diet MTN DEW? Turns out, I basically hadn’t. Joseph Neese points out that “Mountain Dew Zero Sugar will be available nationwide on January 13” (Neese, 2020). I picked up the case on January 14, and came across the article on January 15. I literally discovered the soda on the day after it was released. I wasn’t as unaware as I had originally assumed.
According to the official documentation, “MTN DEW® ZERO SUGAR gives you the bold taste and exhilarating charge of your favorite original MTN DEW® but with none of the sugar” (Mountain Dew). I suppose that’s a good start, they suggest that it tastes the same. Then again, the company WOULD say it tastes the same. They want to sell as much as possible.
Q of Brand Eating explains that “rather than sugar, the new beverage is sweetened with a combination of acesulfame potassium, aspartame, and sucralose” (Q, 2020). Alright, so maybe that’s part of the issue. Different combinations of sweeteners could realistically give different flavor profiles. This new combination may allow a flavor closer to real sugar, and in turn, allow the company to make a no calorie variant that tastes more like MTN DEW made with real sugar. Oddly enough, Q notes that MTN DEW Zero Sugar “contains 68mg of caffeine per 12-oz can versus 54mg for a similar amount of regular Mountain Dew.” It never occurred to me that it would have more caffeine, especially a full 25% more. That is a non-trivial increase.
Even more peculiar, it looks like Taco Bell has offered a zero sugar variant of MTN DEW Baja Blast since December 2018. I don’t really like Baja Blast, but I find it interesting that it had a zero sugar version before the original flavor. I assumed PepsiCo would begin with the original, and then expand zero sugar alternatives to auxiliary flavors.
Having tried MTN DEW Zero Sugar now, I really like it. I won’t say that it is definitely better than original MTN DEW, but it is extremely close. So close, in fact, that I probably couldn’t differentiate if someone were to offer me unmarked containers of each. I suppose that’s probably the best compliment that one can give a diet-friendly alternative to a soda. PepsiCo tried to replicate the flavor of the original, without the sugar content. I’d say they achieved that goal as accurately as possible.
I plan on finishing my current case of Diet MTN DEW and then switching fully to MTN DEW Zero Sugar. That’s just about the biggest vote of confidence that I can give a beverage.
Resources:
Fitzpatrick, C. (2019, December 21). Mountain Dew Just Unveiled A Body Wash That Smells Exactly Like The Soda. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.delish.com/food-news/a30303263/mountain-dew-body-wash/
Mountain Dew Wiki. (n.d.). Mountain Dew Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Mountain_Dew_Zero_Sugar
Mountain Dew Wiki. (n.d.). Baja Blast. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Baja_Blast
Neese, J. (2020, January 10). Mountain Dew's New Zero Sugar Drink Will Help You Stick To Your New Year's Resolutions. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.delish.com/food-news/a30470980/mountain-dew-zero-sugar-drink/
PepsiCo. (n.d.). MTN DEW®️ Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.mountaindew.com/products/mtn-dew-zero-sugar/
Q. (2020, January 10). Mountain Dew Reveals New Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Soda. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.brandeating.com/2020/01/mountain-dew-reveals-new-mountain-dew-zero-sugar-soda.html
Taco Bell. (n.d.). Mountain Dew® Baja Blast® Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.tacobell.com/food/drinks/baja-blast-zero
Thomson, J. R. (2019, April 17). Here's The Real Difference Between Diet Coke And Coke Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coke-zero-sugar-taste-difference_n_597f71d7e4b00bb8ff3875d9
Pretty much every day with lunch, I have a 12 oz can of Diet MTN DEW. Yeah, I realize diet drinks aren’t great for you, but I’m more concerned about the sugar intake than the seemingly minimal effects of artificial sweeteners on my body. Plus, as I said before, I love MTN DEW. I can’t say I would go so far as to bathe in MTN DEW scented body wash, but I really like it. I’ll admit that Diet MTN DEW doesn’t taste quite exactly like the original, but the flavor is pretty close. Close enough that I’ll accept the difference in exchange for the lack of calories and sugar.
On a recent run to Walmart, I noticed three distinct shades of color from a stack of MTN DEW boxes in the center of an aisle. Curious, there are normally only two: original and diet. I did a double take and began to search for the difference. Finally, I noticed that the darkest boxes were labeled “zero sugar.” Hold up, now. I knew nothing of a zero sugar variant of MTN DEW.
While Coca-Cola isn’t my soda of choice (obviously), I do like having a glass on occasion. Unlike Diet MTN DEW, I think Diet Coke has a far inferior to original Coca-Cola. It has a bitter flavor, and I don’t really care for it. However, the advent of Coca-Cola Zero (now Coca-Cola Zero Sugar), was a joyous day for me. With the same formula as original Coca-Cola, it tastes the same, just without the sugar. Perhaps, MTN DEW Zero Sugar would replicate that same success.
I picked up a case of 24 cans. At worst, it wasn’t quite as good as the original or diet versions, and I’d just tough through it until I finished it off. At the end of the day, it’s still MTN DEW. At best, I had discovered a variant that tasted better than either existing version, with the calorie and sugar content similar to diet. It was certainly worth trying.
The next day, I had to do some research. How could I have missed this sweet nectar, as frequently as I buy cases of Diet MTN DEW? Turns out, I basically hadn’t. Joseph Neese points out that “Mountain Dew Zero Sugar will be available nationwide on January 13” (Neese, 2020). I picked up the case on January 14, and came across the article on January 15. I literally discovered the soda on the day after it was released. I wasn’t as unaware as I had originally assumed.
According to the official documentation, “MTN DEW® ZERO SUGAR gives you the bold taste and exhilarating charge of your favorite original MTN DEW® but with none of the sugar” (Mountain Dew). I suppose that’s a good start, they suggest that it tastes the same. Then again, the company WOULD say it tastes the same. They want to sell as much as possible.
Q of Brand Eating explains that “rather than sugar, the new beverage is sweetened with a combination of acesulfame potassium, aspartame, and sucralose” (Q, 2020). Alright, so maybe that’s part of the issue. Different combinations of sweeteners could realistically give different flavor profiles. This new combination may allow a flavor closer to real sugar, and in turn, allow the company to make a no calorie variant that tastes more like MTN DEW made with real sugar. Oddly enough, Q notes that MTN DEW Zero Sugar “contains 68mg of caffeine per 12-oz can versus 54mg for a similar amount of regular Mountain Dew.” It never occurred to me that it would have more caffeine, especially a full 25% more. That is a non-trivial increase.
Even more peculiar, it looks like Taco Bell has offered a zero sugar variant of MTN DEW Baja Blast since December 2018. I don’t really like Baja Blast, but I find it interesting that it had a zero sugar version before the original flavor. I assumed PepsiCo would begin with the original, and then expand zero sugar alternatives to auxiliary flavors.
Having tried MTN DEW Zero Sugar now, I really like it. I won’t say that it is definitely better than original MTN DEW, but it is extremely close. So close, in fact, that I probably couldn’t differentiate if someone were to offer me unmarked containers of each. I suppose that’s probably the best compliment that one can give a diet-friendly alternative to a soda. PepsiCo tried to replicate the flavor of the original, without the sugar content. I’d say they achieved that goal as accurately as possible.
I plan on finishing my current case of Diet MTN DEW and then switching fully to MTN DEW Zero Sugar. That’s just about the biggest vote of confidence that I can give a beverage.
Resources:
Fitzpatrick, C. (2019, December 21). Mountain Dew Just Unveiled A Body Wash That Smells Exactly Like The Soda. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.delish.com/food-news/a30303263/mountain-dew-body-wash/
Mountain Dew Wiki. (n.d.). Mountain Dew Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Mountain_Dew_Zero_Sugar
Mountain Dew Wiki. (n.d.). Baja Blast. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Baja_Blast
Neese, J. (2020, January 10). Mountain Dew's New Zero Sugar Drink Will Help You Stick To Your New Year's Resolutions. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.delish.com/food-news/a30470980/mountain-dew-zero-sugar-drink/
PepsiCo. (n.d.). MTN DEW®️ Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.mountaindew.com/products/mtn-dew-zero-sugar/
Q. (2020, January 10). Mountain Dew Reveals New Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Soda. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.brandeating.com/2020/01/mountain-dew-reveals-new-mountain-dew-zero-sugar-soda.html
Taco Bell. (n.d.). Mountain Dew® Baja Blast® Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.tacobell.com/food/drinks/baja-blast-zero
Thomson, J. R. (2019, April 17). Here's The Real Difference Between Diet Coke And Coke Zero Sugar. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coke-zero-sugar-taste-difference_n_597f71d7e4b00bb8ff3875d9
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