Last month, Mahaska partner Mountain Dew released it’s new, limited edition DEWshine craft soda.
The clear citrus-flavored drink is made with real sugar but is packaged in a retro, longneck glass bottle. The label features Willie the Hillbilly, the original Mountain Dew mascot, and “It’ll Tickle Yore Innards,”the original Mountain Dew slogan. The story behind the DEWshine recipe is that it was one of the first flavors of Dew ever brewed underground in the Tennessee Backwoods. Although DEWshine is a non-alcoholic drink the name cleverly plays off of the word “moonshine”. In fact, the actual term”Mountain Dew” originally referred to homemade corn-based booze or “moonshine”.
In 2012, Mountain Dew also released a similar drink called Johnson City Gold, named after the birthplace of Mountain Dew, Johnson City, Tennessee. The drink smelled and tasted like beer but did not contain any alcohol. With the latest release of DEWshine, there has been a lot of controversy around sodas and non-alcoholic drinks being branded to look like an alcoholic beverage. An article about the DEWshine release in USA Today states:
“The move comes at a time when all things craft seem to be white-hot. Besides craft beers, there’s craft pizza, craft popcorn and even craft beef jerky…it’s already being criticized by some who say PepsiCo is trying to make it extra-appealing to young folks by putting it in a longneck bottle and packaging it like a craft beer.”
Mountain Dew introduced their new product through a sampling tour earlier this month that started at the Dixie Highway and ended in Bristol, Tennessee, at Nascar’s Bristol Motor Speedway where sponsored NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. unveiled his new DEWshine paint scheme on his racing vehicle.
Look out for the rising DEWshine buzz within the next few weeks! Mahaska has already begun creating displays in our customer stores, and it’s started to fly off the shelves.
Click here to contact your local Mahaska representative about stocking DEWshine in your store.
The first commercial for DEWshine featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
https://youtu.be/FnMNXZGh798
