Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Mountain Dew has long been a staple of low-budget boozing. It’s always been easy to pair with alcohol; an Army buddy clued me in to the versatility of “combat margaritas,” which is Dew mixed with whatever bottle you can dig up near the base. About a decade ago, when our nation was gripped by its Whipped Cream Vodka phase (just me? You sure?), Diet Mountain Dew and the perky booze in question combined to make a drink, I swear, tasted pretty much like Sour Skittles.
The folks at PepsiCo understood this. That’s why they made a hard seltzer version of Mountain Dew. They also understood it would take time for a nation to adjust to Dew its residents wouldn’t have to bother mixing extra liquor into. That’s why it’s only available in a few select states.
After rolling out in Florida, Tennessee and Iowa (the big three!), Hard Mountain Dew’s multicolored variety packs — three cans each of Baja Blast, watermelon, black cherry and traditional Dew flavor — doubled that scope to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Minnesota. Feeling regrets yet, coastal elites?
It hasn’t yet made it to Wisconsin’s rabid market, but I happened to have a friend passing through the Ozarks a couple weeks back. He first picked up a 12-er at Wal-Mart as a joke, then drank that and a couple more before buying a few more for the trip home.
This was the highest possible praise for a beverage for which I held no legitimate hopes. Now, I drink it to honor him.
And honor the soda that once marketed itself as the top choice of hillbillies everywhere, of course.