Some people are coke people. Some people are lemonade lovers. But Mountain Dew people seem to have an especially strong allegiance to their seltzer of choice — which means, if you're a Mountain Dew person yourself, you'll be happy to know that Mountain Dew's new flavor, "Sweet Lightning," just hit the scene. But there's a problem: it's only available at KFC restaurants. However, the classic fried chicken chain's soda fountains will be selling the drink nationwide starting July 1, so if you're in the U.S., you'll likely be able to get your hands on the new flavor soon.
News of Sweet Lightning first leaked a few months ago, with some fan sites noting that multiple new flavors of Mountain Dew (including Liberty Brew, which also recently hit stores) were coming in 2019. By April, Sweet Lightning had been spotted in the wild—and now, it's finally official. Or, to be more precise, almost here, since it won't be available nationwide until July 1.
As its name suggests, Sweet Lightning is a bright and punchy sparkling water designed to "energize" KCF's beverage lineup, according to a press release. It's orange-yellow in color and has flavors of peach and honey, and once it arrives, it will become part of KFC's permanent menu.
"Like KFC, MTN DEW is inspired by bold ideas and flavors, creating a genuine partnership from the beginning," said Nicole Portwood, vice president of marketing at Mountain Dew, in a release. "The ability to co-develop An exclusive product – Sweet Lightning – is truly exciting and we look forward to satisfying our customers’ taste buds and pushing the limits of creativity.”
In terms of taste, it does seem sweeter based on early reviews. Impulsive Buy tried the product again in May and thought it was a bit of a "toothache," although the food review site also said the "shockingly sweet taste" did pair well with KFC's salty offerings. Meanwhile, Reddit user u/ATownAndrew left a brief comment on the soda-centric Reddit subreddit r/ToFizzOrNotToFizz in April, comparing it to Peach Fanta. The flavor does sound unique—peach sodas tend to be a little rarer than many other varieties of sodas—so even if you're not a fizzy drinker, it's still worth trying at least once, if only for the novelty. it.
This isn't the first time Mountain Dew has introduced flavors exclusive to specific fast-food restaurants. Mountain Dew Baja Blast launched at Taco Bell in 2004, and now, 15 years later, it's an independent institution. In fact, I just recently learned that the bright turquoise seltzer, ostensibly a "Tropical Lime" flavor, ended up gaining such a following that it had a brief, limited run in the bottle (notably in the spring of 2018 ) All of this is called "huge, huge news."
Will the same thing happen with Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning? Only time will tell. However, like the Baja Blast before it, Sweet Lightning was developed specifically to complement the flavors of the chain restaurants it serves, so if this formula proves to be part of the reason for Baja Blast's popularity, perhaps history will repeat itself here, also. KFC seems to think it's possible; KFC U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Andrea Zahumensky said in a press release: "With the addition of Sweet Lightning, we now have a beverage that is unique to KFC, like the Colonel's secret blend of 11 herbs And just like our world-famous fried chicken, Sweet Lightning will keep fans coming back for more.”
By the way, it's worth noting that both Taco Bell and KFC are owned by Yum Brands - which, you may recall, also counts Pizza Hut among its fast-food giants. Will Pizza Hut be the next restaurant to launch its own Mountain Do flavor? There's no word on that yet - but we wouldn't be surprised if it happened.
Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning will be available nationwide at KFC stores in the U.S. on July 1. Keep an eye out for the new mascot, too; according to company lore, he's also called "Sweet Lightning," and he appears to be the fast-talking guy who brought the new drink to Colonel Sander's attention. (Sweetness is fictional, but we can probably expect some, uh, fun ads featuring the new guy alongside the Colonel himself.) You can find out where your nearest KFC is here.
