Mountain Dew: Pitch Black

I finally managed to get my hands on one of these on my way up to D.C. this past weekend. I have been looking for it for a while now in South Carolina, to no avail, so I was happy to see this one sitting on the shelf at a stop during our trip.

Mountain Dew: Pitch Black was a pretty big deal when it was originally released back in 2004. Many people to try the drink hailed it as the best flavor of Mountain Dew ever to be released, and sales of the limited edition flavor were generally regarded as very successful. After leaving Mountain Dew fans in suspense for the better part of seven years, Pitch Black was finally re-released this year, again on a limited edition run.

In the interest of fairness, I feel that I should start off by saying that I have never been a huge fan of Mountain Dew. I don't dislike it, but it is generally just too sweet for me, particularly in its tempting 20 oz. serving size. Pitch Black is also very sweet, as you would expect a Mountain Dew with extra fruit flavor to be, but the sweetness is offset by a pleasant and more interesting taste than the original. The added black grape flavor seems to bring down the acidity a bit and almost mellows out the overall flavor. The grape flavor is good, although artificial, and is more prominent in the mixture than the rest of the Mountain Dew flavor. As mentioned before, Pitch Black is still pretty sweet, and I did not finish the entire 20 oz. bottle, but it was still much easier to drink and I did not tire of the sweetness as fast as other Mountain Dew varieties.

After finally being able to experience the Pitch Black phenomenon for myself, I can say that I now understand what all the hype was about. Mountain Dew: Pitch Black is pretty good. It's a little bit on the artificial, sugary side, and 20 ounces is still a little bit much at one time, but I would definitely buy it again.

Verdict: Recommended

Purchased: Unremembered filling station on I-95.
Size: 20 fl. oz.
Price: $1.60