Testing Ground: Mountain Dew VooDEW (2022)

Sep. 24—You've got to love an annual tradition that rings in a certain season of the year.

For some, fall is the season of pumpkin spice. For soda lovers, it's the time when Mountain Dew unveils its latest iteration of "VooDEW."

Since 2019, the flavor of the soda is a mystery that's revealed at the end of the season. In the past, it's been Candy Corn, Fruit Candy Explosion and Fruit Candy Chews. Unlike Coca-Cola's wretched line of gimmick flavors, most of these have tasted good.

Similar to 2021's soda, this year's VooDEW has a white, translucent look to it. Its flavor has a sweet-and-sour mix of lemon, lime, grape and strawberry that end up leaving your mouth feeling dry.

If I had to guess this year's flavor, I would think it would be Sweet Tarts (which I assume wasn't covered under Fruit Candy Chews or Fruit Candy Explosion). The sweet and sour ratio is pretty even and somehow, it tastes more sugary than regular Mountain Dew.

This is all to say that, like any of these limited-time flavors, it's good for a bottle or two, but nothing you're likely going to revisit or tell your friends that you miss when it's gone. The fun in the product being brought back annually is giving it a taste and having others try it to see what they think it is.

While Coca-Cola has tried to steal Mountain Dew's thunder with its "Guess this soda flavor" gimmick, the main difference is this won't have you immediately chucking it into the garbage. For what it is, a single-purchase drink, it does its job and reinforces the need for more spooky-themed, non-alcoholic drinks for this time of year.

Andrew Gaug can be reached at andrew.gaug@newspressnow.com.

Follow him on Twitter: @NPNOWGaug