10 Mountain Dew Flavors We Wish Would Return

Products are discontinued for a variety of reasons, such as low demand, cost concerns, and brand strategy shifts. Regardless, it's always disappointing when a fan-favorite product is taken off the shelves. Since the original flavor of Mountain Dew was created in 1940, the PepsiCo partner has crafted hundreds of unique flavors, from the wildly popular Baja Blast, which was created for Taco Bell, to the experimental DEWitos (Dorito-flavored soda). As the second most popular soda flavor under PepsiCo in 2024, according to Statista, Mountain Dew has come a long way from being a simple mixer for whiskey.

Mountain Dew has crafted a loyal fanbase by involving consumers in the decision-making process for choosing permanent flavors, but tragically not every flavor can be found on the shelves today. Between seasonal flavors, cross-brand collaborations, and fan-voting competitions, there are tons of Mountain Dew flavors that are now extremely rare and highly coveted. Some standouts include the limited-edition Game of Thrones cans and the Southern Shock Mountain Dew Bojangles collaboration. Here are 10 once-popular Mountain Dew flavors that we wish would make a comeback.

Mountain Dew created the DEWmocracy campaign to allow fans to get involved in the decision-making process for selecting new permanent flavors. The company has held multiple DEWmocracy promotions, including DEWmocracy I in 2007 and 2008, and DEWmocracy II in 2009, as well as additional campaigns in countries like Canada and Singapore. Mountain Dew Revolution is a sky-blue colored, berry fruit-flavored soda infused with ginseng that was crafted as part of the DEWmocracy I campaign. It competed against two other flavors — Voltage and Supernova.

In the summer of 2008, all three flavors were released so fans had a chance to try them and vote on their favorite. Revolution placed third in the competition and thus did not become a permanent flavor. However, it was re-released in 2011 for a limited time and had fans vying to bring back the flavor for good. Nonetheless, it has not made its way back onto shelves despite fan appreciation and nostalgia.

Since its debut at Taco Bell in 2004, Mountain Dew's Baja Blast became wildly popular and remains so today. Following its success, Mountain Dew released the Sangrita Blast in 2013 alongside five other flavors exclusively at participating Taco Bell restaurants. The Sangrita Blast is a maroon-colored soda known for its citrus-punch flavor. Many fans compared it to Cyclone, another discontinued flavor that came in almost the exact same maroon color.

In January 2015, the flavor was also released in bottles and cans for a limited time at grocery stores. While not as popular as the iconic green, tropical-lime flavored Baja Blast, Sangrita Blast garnered its own following and remained in Taco Bell until 2017, when it was replaced by Spiked (Lemonade) at the chain. While Sangrita Blast is a flavor that some fans on Reddit "desperately want back," the company has not made moves to do so yet.

Mountain Dew Supernova made its first appearance in the DEWmocracy I competition where it was runner-up to Voltage. The bright magenta-colored beverage boasted a strawberry melon flavor profile and was accompanied by the sugar-free counterpart, Diet Supernova. Despite not earning its place as a permanent flavor, fans were eager to see it return to shelves.

Mountain Dew held the Back by Popular DEWmand promotion in 2011 to re-release some popular flavors for a limited time; among these were Supernova, Pitch Black, and Typhoon. The re-release was short-lived, however, since all three flavors were once again wiped from the shelves in July of that same year. Supernova did manage one more comeback as a Slurpee flavor at participating 7-Elevens in May 2023.

Interestingly, Supernova was also sold in Denmark and Finland as a raspberry lemon flavor instead of the strawberry melon flavor sold in North America. The flavor is more commonly referred to as Euronova to avoid confusion with the Supernova flavor sold in the U.S. The Supernova flavor sold in Nordic countries has also been discontinued as of 2016.

Mountain Dew MDX was released alongside its sugar-free counterpart in November 2005. It followed in the footsteps of Amp, which was the first energy drink marketed by Mountain Dew. MDX had a yellow-green color and citrus flavor very similar to that of the Amp and Citrus-Charge flavors. Mountain Dew beta-tested the energy drink under the name Mountain Dew X by releasing a select amount of six-packs on the company website and providing individual cans to those in attendance at the Xbox 360 introduction party in October 2005.

During the testing phase, Coca-Cola released its own citrus-flavored energy drink called Vault to try to rival Mountain Dew MDX. The two soda companies went head-to-head with marketing campaigns and television commercials. Mountain Dew attempted to adjust its strategy and remove itself from direct competition with Coca-Cola in November 2006, rebranding MDX as an "energy-infused soda" rather than an energy drink. The rebrand led to customer confusion and low sales, inevitably resulting in the flavor being discontinued. However, the energy drink was popular among gamers on Reddit, many of whom still remember the flavor fondly, describing it as looking like "toxic waste" but tasting delicious!

Mountain Dew's Dewshine was released in 2015 and proved to be a very unique, new style of Mountain Dew. Unlike the citrus-green plastic bottles that fans were used to, Dewshine was a clear soda packaged in long-neck glass bottles. Jennifer Ryan, a spokesperson for Mountain Dew explained to USAToday that the product was "inspired by the brand's roots in the backwoods of Tennessee." However, the soda company received criticism from some groups for attempting to appeal to a young crowd with bottles that closely resembled beer.

Michael Scippa with the advocacy group Alcohol Justice claimed, "The line between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is intentionally being blurred by producers of both" in order to appeal to younger audiences and grow their markets. Mountain Dew denied this claim, stating that they had used similar glass bottles for other products in the past. Despite some criticism, Dewshine remained on shelves from March 2015 to February 2017 and then it was ultimately discontinued.

Mountain Dew White Out was introduced as a finalist in the DEWmocracy II promotion in 2010. It went head to head with Typhoon and Distortion and eventually won the fan vote to be released as a permanent flavor. As the name implies, the soda was white in color but the flavor actually varied based on where it was distributed. In the U.S. and Canada, the flavor profile was described as smooth citrus with Yuzu Lemongrass, in Japan it was described as Cool Citrus and in New Zealand, it was simply Lemon.

With 44% of the votes, White Out won the competition and was released as a permanent flavor. By 2019, it was pulled from the shelves in most regions, along with many other underperforming Mountain Dew flavors. However, producers in some Midwest regions continued to sell 20-ounce bottles until 2023. Before it disappeared from the shelves, White Out came out in freeze form at some 7-Eleven, Maverick, and Circle K locations, but all were sadly discontinued. 

Pitch Black was a dark purple, grape-flavored soda that was first released as a limited-time Halloween seasonal flavor in 2004 and proved to be extremely popular. In the wake of the flavor's success, PepsiCo released a sequel flavor in 2005 called Pitch Black II, which featured a similar flavor with a sour bite. Pitch Black II was only available for a 10-week period, but the flavor had many re-releases before being ultimately discontinued.

Pitch Black made another appearance in 2011 with the Back by Popular DEWmand campaign alongside Typhoon and Supernova. Then, in December 2015, it was part of a giveaway in which over 1,000 fans had the chance to win 15 bottles of the popular flavor by explaining why they loved it with the hashtag #WeWantPitchBlack.

Again, Pitch Black returned in 2016 when it was pitted against Baja Blast in the DEWcision 2016 promotion. The flavor managed to edge out the competition and was crowned a permanent addition gracing shelves by December of that year. By 2019, however, sales were down and the flavor was discontinued in most regions of the US, although it was available sporadically until 2023. The flavor also remained on shelves in Canada and is still available as a fountain drink at some 7-Eleven and Speedway locations.

Mountain Dew Black Label was released alongside White Label and Green Label, which became known as the Label Series. The Black Label's flavor was described as Dark Berry Flavor Punch and was designed to satisfy "a taste for life's finer things without sacrificing the boldness of DEW," Greg Lyons, senior vice president of marketing for Mountain Dew, said in a press release. The Label Series was tested across 600 college campuses to give college and university students the first taste of the so-called "Deeper, Darker, Dew" flavors.

With initial success, the Black Label was released as a permanent flavor in 2016. However, the success did not last long because by 2019, the flavor was wiped from shelves in most regions due to underwhelming sales. After being distributed sporadically by some independent PepsiCo sellers, it was ultimately discontinued entirely by 2020. Despite not remaining on shelves for long, the Black Label did outlast both the White and Green Labels from the same series, proving to be the most popular.

Mountain Dew Spiked was released in 2017 in both Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade flavors. Despite what the name might suggest, the sodas were non-alcoholic and were more similar to the Label and Mountain Dew Energy Series. It was available in stores in cans as well as at participating Taco Bell locations in both fountain and freeze form. By September 2017, Spiked (Lemonade) Freezes had been replaced by the Strawberry Poppin' Candy Freeze at Taco Bell, but the flavor remained as a fountain drink option until December 2018.

At this time, Taco Bell began phasing out the flavor and making way for the extremely popular Baja Blast, which celebrated its 20th year anniversary in Taco Bell in 2024. By 2019 it was no longer available at Taco Bell. It was wiped from store shelves during this time as well. 

Some fans criticized the brand for calling it "spiked" despite being non-alcoholic, asserting that the confusion may have led to the downfall of the flavor. Interestingly, in Canada, the flavor was called Extra (Lemonade) instead of Spiked.

Mountain Dew Energy, formerly known as Mountain Dew Rise, was a line of energy drinks released in 2021. Each can contained 180 Milligrams of caffeine, which is the equivalent of about 2 cups of coffee. The lineup included four popular flavors from the brand's repertoire: Baja Blast, Pitch Black, Code Red, and Major Melon. In addition, the Energy lineup introduced new varieties, including Pomegranate Blue Burst, Strawberry Melon Spark, Berry Blitz, Orange Breeze, and Tropical Sunrise.

Upon release under the name "Rise," PepsiCo. landed in legal trouble with a coffee company called RISE Brewing Company. The coffee company originally won a ruling for copyright infringement and PepsiCo changed the name of its line to Energy; however, a U.S. appeals court reversed the decision in 2022, according to Reuters. Despite ultimately winning the case, all of the Mountain Dew Energy line flavors had been discontinued by January 2024.