The Bizarre Untold History of Mountain Dew (And Other Popular Sodas)

First invented in 1940, Mountain Dew has grown to become one of the most popular soda brands in the world. Since its debut, the citrus soft drink has expanded its reach with unique flavors and unusual Super Bowl ads.

Below is a list of some surprising facts you didn’t know about Mountain Dew along with some other popular soda brands.

Originally a Mixer for Bourbon

Ally and Barney Hartman originally designed Mountain Dew to accompany their favorite alcoholic beverage, Old Taylor bourbon.

Bottling small amounts of their lemon-lime flavored soda for their own use, dubbing it “Personal SetUp,” the substance received its new name as a reference to moonshine.

‘Mountain Dew’ is a Nickname for Moonshine

During a 1946 soda convention, the brothers launched their creation as a joke product which featured a depiction of a “rifle-toting hillbilly” and the catchphrase “It’ll tickle yore innards.” Much to their surprise, Charlie Gordon-the owner of Tri-City Beverage- expressed interest in bottling the soda, eventually earning the rights in 1954.

In 1951, the soda lined market shelves but struggled to take off until 1957 when the Hartmans decided to sell their brand to Tip Corporation.

It Originally Tasted Very Different

The Hartmans’ original recipe for the moonshine mix tasted very similar to today’s Sprite but when transfered to Tri-City Beverage, it took on a new flavor in an attempt to rival to the increasingly popular Sun Drop.

Taking on a citrus-lemon flavor, the recipe now includes “concentrated orange juice” among its ingredients.

Almost Too Caffeinated

Only three non-coffee beverages rival the amount of caffeine in one 12 fl oz can of Mountain Dew which already has a whopping 55 milligrams. In order of most to least, Red Bull contains 80mg with Jolt coming in close second with 71.2 mg.

Pepsi One comes in third with 55.5mg. Originally Mountain Dew contained more caffeine but during production, it would crystalize to the point of forming into slivers of ice that threatened to burst through the bottles.