Review: The Mountain Dew America Pack wraps itself in Code Red, White Out ... and Voltage

What are food companies going to do once they’re done celebrating America’s 250th birthday? The semiquincentennial has been a massive source of inspiration when it comes to releasing limited editions and specially packaged versions of everything from candy to chips to sparkling juice.

For PepsiCo, this summer of food-based patriotism is the perfect moment to release the Mountain Dew America Variety Pack.

Rebranding “Mountain Dew” as “American Dew” clearly wasn’t enough. This was an opportunity to go farther, to do something extreme. This was the moment for PepsiCo to bring Mountain Dew White Out back, packaging it with Mountain Dew Code Red and Mountain Dew Voltage.

People love White Out. “THE 🐐 RETURNS,” a commenter wrote on Reddit. “I will buy a ton of these just for White Out.” Another person added: “OMFG I NEED WHITE OUT I WANT IT IN MY VEINS.”

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The cost

I paid $10.47 at Walmart for the Mountain Dew America Variety Pack, which includes 18 cans.

The pics

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The thoughts

The America Pack earns its name because it includes six cans each of three flavors of Mountain Dew that are red (Code Red), white (White Out) and blue (Voltage). Because, you know, AMERICA.

It’s no secret that when it comes to soda, I’m a zero sugar guy. I mean, I had EIGHT different varieties of Mountain Dew Zero Sugar in my house at one point. And while Code Red Zero Sugar exists if you live in the Midwest or are willing to buy soda from a third-party seller on Amazon, there has never been a sugar-free version of White Out and Voltage.

Which means don’t waste your time hunting for the Mountain Dew Zero Sugar America Variety Pack. If PepsiCo is celebrating America, it’s doing it with 91 percent of your daily suggested intake of sugar in each can.

But for Snackology readers, I cracked open a can of each flavor for this review.

Mountain Dew Code Red is an iconic flavor, the first variety of Mountain Dew to go beyond its classic citrus taste. It’s been a long time since I had the traditional version of Code Red. In terms of taste, it’s the same cherry flavor that I fell in love with a quarter century ago. But, wow, does that sugar throw me off, especially now that I’ve recently had Code Red Zero Sugar.

I wish I could have the same reaction to Mountain Dew White Out that its fans experience. I just can’t get past the sugariness of all three of these flavors. I do, however, get a kick out of a “citrus” flavor of Mountain Dew ... a soda that’s already, well, a citrus soda. (The Internet tells me that White Out should have notes of yuzu and lemongrass.)

I know that Mountain Dew Voltage is raspberry flavored, but it brings me back to the days of drinking Mountain Dew Pitch Black.