Thirsty Thursday Eve - Hard Mountain Dew
Hard Mountain Dew is a thing, and while it isn’t available in South Carolina, I finally got my hands on some.
As best I can tell, Hard Mountain Dew originally became available in some states in February 2022 (The Boston Beer Company, 2022). When I learned about it, I was immediately interested in trying it. I love some Mountain Dew, and I frequently mix it with varying distilled spirits. Hard Mountain Dew in a can would save me the effort of mixing it with anything.
Since South Carolina wasn’t one of the original launch states, I would have to go somewhere else to buy it. No big deal, we cross state lines at least once every few weeks. I would just have to keep an eye out any time we traveled. That, or hope that they hurry up and bring it to SC (Spoiler: they still haven’t).
Several months later, I had basically forgotten about looking for Hard Mountain Dew. We weren’t traveling much, and I still had the option to mix white rum in my regular Mountain Dew, so it wasn’t a pressing concern. I was reminded of this endeavor after I returned to work from a snowboarding trip. A trip to Tennessee. A state where Hard Mountain Dew is sold.
Adding insult to injury, I looked up stores that carry Hard Mountain Dew near the Airbnb we were staying in. There was a convenience store barely a mile away that sold it. During the entire trip, I was walking distance from the ability to try this beverage. Alas, by the time I knew, I was already back home.
Again, a few months went by and we went to Walt Disney World in Florida. Yet again, I wasn’t considering that we were in a state where Hard Mountain Dew might be available. By a stroke of fortune, we visited a nearby Walmart on the very first night of our trip to pick up some swimwear. As we were leaving, I looked up to see an entire wall of Hard Mountain Dew. They had boxes and boxes of every single flavor available, with quite a few variety packs.
We were already finished checking out, and I wasn’t going to fight the crowd again with a full vacation ahead of us, but I made a point that we would come by again at some point during our trip. At worst, we would swing by on the way out and grab some to take home. Coincidentally, that’s exactly what happened. We didn’t go back to that Walmart until our final morning when we had already packed up to go home. My wife had forgotten, but I did not. This was my chance to finally try Hard Mountain Dew.
Since it might be a few months before I got the opportunity to buy more, I decided to stock up. In total, I bought a 12 pack of the original, a 12 pack of Baja Blast, and two of the 12 count mix packs. I absolutely looked like an alcoholic, leaving Walmart with 4 cases of Hard Mountain Dew, carrying them stacked up and wearing my American flag crocs. Did I care? Not a bit.
Once we got home, I obviously had to try them. I won’t say that I was disappointed, but I wasn’t exactly impressed. They did mimic the flavor of original Mountain Dew very closely. In fact, if you poured one into an unmarked glass, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell a difference from standard Dew with some undetermined alcohol mixed in. And really, I feel like that’s probably the highest compliment I can pay. You taste exactly like what you aimed to be. Good job.
Still, I somehow expected more. This was supposed to be a life-changing experience. My favorite soda released an alcoholic version. Doesn’t that mean something? Apparently not, is the answer.
Since South Carolina wasn’t one of the original launch states, I would have to go somewhere else to buy it. No big deal, we cross state lines at least once every few weeks. I would just have to keep an eye out any time we traveled. That, or hope that they hurry up and bring it to SC (Spoiler: they still haven’t).
Several months later, I had basically forgotten about looking for Hard Mountain Dew. We weren’t traveling much, and I still had the option to mix white rum in my regular Mountain Dew, so it wasn’t a pressing concern. I was reminded of this endeavor after I returned to work from a snowboarding trip. A trip to Tennessee. A state where Hard Mountain Dew is sold.
Adding insult to injury, I looked up stores that carry Hard Mountain Dew near the Airbnb we were staying in. There was a convenience store barely a mile away that sold it. During the entire trip, I was walking distance from the ability to try this beverage. Alas, by the time I knew, I was already back home.
Again, a few months went by and we went to Walt Disney World in Florida. Yet again, I wasn’t considering that we were in a state where Hard Mountain Dew might be available. By a stroke of fortune, we visited a nearby Walmart on the very first night of our trip to pick up some swimwear. As we were leaving, I looked up to see an entire wall of Hard Mountain Dew. They had boxes and boxes of every single flavor available, with quite a few variety packs.
We were already finished checking out, and I wasn’t going to fight the crowd again with a full vacation ahead of us, but I made a point that we would come by again at some point during our trip. At worst, we would swing by on the way out and grab some to take home. Coincidentally, that’s exactly what happened. We didn’t go back to that Walmart until our final morning when we had already packed up to go home. My wife had forgotten, but I did not. This was my chance to finally try Hard Mountain Dew.
Since it might be a few months before I got the opportunity to buy more, I decided to stock up. In total, I bought a 12 pack of the original, a 12 pack of Baja Blast, and two of the 12 count mix packs. I absolutely looked like an alcoholic, leaving Walmart with 4 cases of Hard Mountain Dew, carrying them stacked up and wearing my American flag crocs. Did I care? Not a bit.
Still, I somehow expected more. This was supposed to be a life-changing experience. My favorite soda released an alcoholic version. Doesn’t that mean something? Apparently not, is the answer.
As I looked more into it, I learned that these weren’t soda mixed with a distilled spirit. They were malt beverages crafted to taste like Mountain Dew. And while they did nail the flavor profile, that means these don’t have any caffeine. What’s the one factor that distinguishes Mountain Dew from other sodas? Caffeine content.
I am glad I finally picked up some Hard Mountain Dew to try. Honestly, it is very good. If you like Mountain Dew, you’ll probably enjoy the hard variant. However, it most definitely is not worth the hype around it, nor is it worth traveling multiple states away to obtain. Trust me, just mix whatever liquor you want with whatever flavor of Mountain Dew you like. It’s easier, cheaper, and closer.
If I’m on vacation in some state where Hard Mountain Dew is available and I go on a beer run, maybe I would pick some up. That’s certainly a better niche for this beverage. At home, I have Mountain Dew and liquor already on hand. On vacation, I’m reducing the amount of stops that I have to make, and the amount of leftovers I have to bring home with me. I’m not going out of my way to pick up multiple cases and bring them home, but it’s good enough that I would definitely drink it again if they were available.
They have a new Live Wire flavor that I do want to try, but I’m guessing it would be just as easy to pick up Live Wire from the grocery store and mix it with rum. That’s going to be my temporary replacement, at least.
References
The Boston Beer Company. (2022, February 22). The wait is finally over: New hard mtn dew® hits shelves in select states. PR Newswire: press release distribution, targeting, monitoring and marketing. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-wait-is-finally-over-new-hard-mtn-dew-hits-shelves-in-select-states-301487102.html
I am glad I finally picked up some Hard Mountain Dew to try. Honestly, it is very good. If you like Mountain Dew, you’ll probably enjoy the hard variant. However, it most definitely is not worth the hype around it, nor is it worth traveling multiple states away to obtain. Trust me, just mix whatever liquor you want with whatever flavor of Mountain Dew you like. It’s easier, cheaper, and closer.
If I’m on vacation in some state where Hard Mountain Dew is available and I go on a beer run, maybe I would pick some up. That’s certainly a better niche for this beverage. At home, I have Mountain Dew and liquor already on hand. On vacation, I’m reducing the amount of stops that I have to make, and the amount of leftovers I have to bring home with me. I’m not going out of my way to pick up multiple cases and bring them home, but it’s good enough that I would definitely drink it again if they were available.
They have a new Live Wire flavor that I do want to try, but I’m guessing it would be just as easy to pick up Live Wire from the grocery store and mix it with rum. That’s going to be my temporary replacement, at least.
References
The Boston Beer Company. (2022, February 22). The wait is finally over: New hard mtn dew® hits shelves in select states. PR Newswire: press release distribution, targeting, monitoring and marketing. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-wait-is-finally-over-new-hard-mtn-dew-hits-shelves-in-select-states-301487102.html
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