Mountain dew - Definition and Overview

Mountain Dew is a soft drink flavored with citrus, produced by PepsiCo. It was first marketed locally in 1948 and across America in 1964.

In the U.S. and New Zealand, Mountain Dew has a higher caffeine content than normal Pepsi or Coca-Cola, but the Mountain Dew marketed in Australia and Canada--as well as some US states--has no caffeine added. A version of the drink was marketed for three years in the UK in the late 1990s.

Finland is the second country in the EU where Mountain Dew was launched. This happened in 2002. In 2005, Norway can also appreciate this soft drink.

Mountain Dew was originally marketed as "zero proof moonshine" and had pictures of hillbillies on the bottle. The marketing target as of 2002 is radically different. The drink is mainly marketed to people in the 20-30 year old demographic group, and Mountain Dew advertising creates a connection between the drink and extreme sports.

Flavors

• Mountain Dew
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Caffeine Free Mountain Dew (confirmed available in eastern Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, parts of Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Vermont, and Provo, Utah)
• Diet Caffeine Free Mountain Dew (confirmed available in eastern Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia and Michigan)
• Mountain Dew Code Red (Cherry flavored, introduced in 2001)
• Diet Mountain Dew Code Red
• Mountain Dew LiveWire (Orange flavored, introduced in summer 2003 as a limited-time product -- but brought back again for summer 2004)
• Mountain Dew Baja Blast (Lime flavored, available exclusively at all Taco Bell stores starting in summer 2004)
• Mountain Dew Pitch Black (Black grape flavored) - limited edition flavor for Halloween ; released in August 2004
• Mountain Dew Electrocution (Wild Berries flavored) - to be released for the 2005 Easter season.

Historical meanings

Mountain Dew was originally southern and/or Irish slang for moonshine (homemade whiskey), or poitín as it is called in Ireland. An 1882 song from Ireland "The Rare Old Mountain Dew" (Words by Edward Harrigan. Music by Dave Braham) begins:

Let grasses grow and waters flow

In a free and easy way,

But give me enough of the rare ould stuff,

That's made near Galway Bay,

Come gougers all from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim too,

And we'll give them the slip and we'll take a sip,

Of the rare ould mountain dew.

A 1947 version by Grandpa Jones (1913-1998) may be better-known to Americans:

There's a big holler tree down the road here from me

where you lay down a doller er two.

When you come round the bend and when you come back again

there's a jug full of good old mountain dew

Oh they call it that old mountain dew and them that refuse it are few.

I'll shut up my mug if you fill up my jug with some good old mountain dew.

External link

• Official list of Mountain Dew products, with ingredients and nutrition information (http://mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/index.php)