Mtn Dew Summer Freeze: The popular soda takes on a summer time classic

By Brad Shawgo

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  It’s a Thursday night in May 2001. Tomorrow is the last day of school for the year so the vibe at home is pretty good. Survivor had just wrapped up its Australian set season 2 the previous Thursday, so as far as viewing options go, we needed to find something for that particular night. What did we do? We went down to the local, independently owned video rental store and rented the newly released, Miss Congenitally on VHS (I’m sure there was a copy on DVD as well but we didn’t get a DVD player in the home until later that year).

Of course you can’t have a movie night without a snack and beverage right? We were in luck because right across the street from that rental store was the local, independently owned grocery store. The snack we got? Honestly, I can’t remember. What I do remember though, the highlight of night, (yes, Miss Congenitally was entertainingly delightful) was the beverage of choice. The newly released Mountain Dew: Code Red. 

Why was this a big deal at the time? It was really Mountain Dew’s first big attempt at branching out with a different flavor. Everyone was talking about it and you had to give it a try. So I did and this kicked off a summer that featured several Code Reds. Not only was it something new and different but it was a pretty good cherry flavored soda.

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More importantly, for Mountain Dew (Mtn Dew from here on out) and its other consumers, this led to other flavored versions of the popular drink. Next came its crack at orange soda with Livewire in 2003, followed by both the grape flavored Pitch Black and the Taco Bell exclusive Baja Blast the following year. Then there was the great DEWmocracy of 2008 where Mtn Dew Voltage reigned supreme in the pick the new flavor contest (No surprise here. Voltage just isn’t a great berry flavored soda, it is arguably one of the best releases of the 21st century). 

These successful releases didn’t just open the door for more flavors but took over the whole house and next thing you know new Mtn Dew flavors were being released left and right. Even to the point that restaurants, convenient stores, and gas stations were receiving an exclusive flavor. Yes, it has gotten a bit out of hand but it’s not like the original Dew has been discontinued (yet, anyway) and nobody is being forced to try every flavor. Besides, really nothing to complain about if you like to switch it up every once in awhile. 

A common release trend now from Mtn Dew is their seasonal releases. The mystery flavor, Voo Dew has taken over the Halloween/Fall season. The Holiday season has been accompanied by a festive Dew inspired by the tastes that come with the winter holidays (the 2022 addition, Fruit Quake, was Mtn Dew with a shot of Fireball and a splash of grenadine). 

Then of course, there is the annual summer time release, and for 2023, Mtn Dew takes the nostalgic approach with Summer Freeze. What exactly is summer freeze flavoring? That would be the taste of a Bomb Pop, the legendary red, white, and blue popsicle and a staple in the American youth experience. The label alludes to this with the phrase ‘With a blast of summertime Americana’. 

I was a skeptic when I first heard this was going to be the popular soda brand’s newest release. The nostalgia angle didn’t really draw very much intrigue from me. Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of Bomb Pops in my time. They serve their purpose. A solid sweet treat when the weather is warm. I was more of a sherbet push-pop kid but the Bomb Pop has definitely earned its place in the American consumer history books. For me anyway, the bomb pop is not just something that automatically takes me to a special time or place when growing up. With that said, the nostalgic marketing is smart. I’ll get to that shortly.  

First, there were a couple other things that kept my level of intrigue to a minimum. With a bomb pop, you get both cherry and berry flavors right? So my first concern was that it would taste very similar to past summertime Dews, such as DEW-S-A (Code Red, White Out and Voltage combined) or Liberty Brew which claimed to have ‘50 Flavors in One’ (tasted like Voltage to me). My second concern is that for some reason there have been products, any product not just Mtn Dew, featuring a bomb pop flavoring that had an odd icy, tingly, almost toothpaste like sensation. Mtn Dew actually had something similar to this in 2020 with the release of Frost Bite. It’s not great. 

Fortunately though both of these concerns were quickly dismissed after I had finally had my first sip of Summer Freeze. To my surprise, not only is it its own thing, it does in fact taste like a bomb pop. Because of this, I don’t need to tell you how good it is. Bomb pops taste good so this bomb pop soda tastes good. What is more impressive about the taste, is how it under plays the flavor ever so slightly so you are reminded more of what eating a bomb pop popsicle would taste and feel like rather than the act of drinking a flavored soda. 

With Summer Freeze though comes the second part of its play: nostalgia and the bomb pop’s place in American culture. As I mentioned, the bomb pop flavor itself didn’t transport me back 20 plus years ago to a time when a popsicle was involved but Mtn Dew releasing a new flavor did and like Summer Freeze’s ode to Americana, I was taken back the first time that I tried a new Mtn Dew flavor and my own personal Americana that surrounded that moment. If a soda is good based on its flavor, then Summer Freeze is a keeper. This drink can stir up fond memories in more ways than one across several generations, making it a little more than just another flavor in Mtn Dew’s busy release schedule.