Skip the Coffee – Go for Mountain Dew’s New Breakfast Drink [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]

Coffee, a staple of the morning. Most of us need that caffeine jolt to get the day going. Mountain Dew is officially getting into the morning drink business with Mountain Dew Kick Start. But, does it provide the same jolt as a cup of Joe?

Mountain Dew was first invented in 1940 with a reformulated version hitting stores in 1958. Brand and production rights were taken over by PepsiCo starting in 1964. The citrus-lime drink is known for its distinct flavor, high sugar and high caffeine content.

PepsiCo has been experimenting for years with new flavors and variations to the extremely popular Mountain Dew brand. After adding several fan favorite flavors, they’ve decided to give coffee a run for the money and compete in the morning beverage business.

Mountain Dew Kick Start is more than just a standard energy drink. Available in two flavors orange and fruit punch, the drink is half Dew – half juice. (Ok, it’s 5% juice, but you get the idea.)

Seeing it recently introduced to stores, and being a big Mountain Dew fan, myself, I had to give this a try.

Full disclosure: I’ve never really been a coffee drinker. Only recently, now that we have a flashy Keurig coffee maker at work, do I occasionally have a cup. Before that, I would maybe have two cups in an entire year. A bottle of Mountain Dew is always my choice. I’m not ashamed to take one into a 9am business meeting. Reading about this new product got me excited, finally a perfect solution!

Seeing the ads when it was released, I’ve been looking for this in stores for quite a while. Finally, I spotted a sign on the door at my local 7-Eleven, they were advertising ‘Buy two, get one free.”  What a deal! I went for it!

The first Mountain Dew Kick Start flavor I tried is orange citrus and is exactly that. Mountain Dew mixed with orange juice. Last year, Taco Bell introduced nearly the exact same drink on their new breakfast menu and it’s been a success. The flavor is great and the drink has a light orange color. A little sour from the OJ and a little sweet from the Dew, but is really a great balance.

I was a tired that morning and the drink did seem to give me an energy kick. There is more caffeine in one 16 oz can than there is in standard 20 oz bottle of Dew, but less than the 24 oz bottle of Dew I usually drink. It was definitely good enough to pick me up and I had no need to reach for a cup of coffee, or another soft drink.

The next day, I tried the fruit punch flavor. It’s the same deal, Mountain Dew mixed with regular fruit punch drink that you could buy at the store. It is also a great mix with a light red color. The fruit punch flavor is much stronger than it’s orange brother. Definitely not as much of a Dew taste. It kind of reminded me of a piece of candy.

I also like how the nutrition facts are labeled for the entire can. I can’t stand it when you buy a product and they divide up the nutrition facts into 2 ½ servings, etc. That is misleading the customer. Nobody drinks a 20 oz beverage in 2 ½ servings. Make it simple.

The nutrition facts break down as follows:

Serving Size: 1 16 oz. can

Calories: 80

Total fat: 0g

Sodium: 180mg (orange) 170mg (fruit punch)

Total carbs: 21g (orange) 20mg (fruit punch)

% Juice: 5%

Caffeine: 92mg

It also contains low calorie artificial sweeteners Acesulfame Potassium and Sucralose.

Not too bad on the calorie count, but as always high on the sodium and caffeine. By comparison, a standard 20oz bottle of Mountain Dew contains:

Serving Size: 1 20 oz bottle

Number of Servings: 2.5

Calories: 110

Total fat: 0g

Sodium: 40g

Total carbs: 31g

Caffeine: 91mg

THE 411

Name: Mountain Dew Kick Start
What: morning soft drink mixed with juice
Released: 2013
Website: http://www.mtndewkickstart.com

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:

Love the flavor and love the concept. The calorie count is also not that high and it is a great alternative to coffee. However, if you’re looking to cut caffeine all together, this is what you want. 

The problem with most energy drinks is the taste. Some are just like a punch in the face. This gives you that energy kick with great flavor. I didn’t seem to crash after the initial kick effects wore off either, which is another problem I have with other energy drinks.

I only hope they continue to roll out more flavors!  For a quick pick me up however, this is a score.

If you liked this post, please do us the further boon of Liking the Fierce and Nerdy page on FaceBook. Also, we’re giving great stream on Twitter, so do give us follow.