To give you an idea of how backed-up I am on sodas reviews, Mountain Dew has released the reformulated Pitch Black before I got the chance to review the first one. I actually DID review the first one, but my brilliant, poignant post was DELETED befor I could make it live. I will admit, some foul language was involved. When it got deleted, I mean, not in my review.
So let me now kill two grape "infused" citrus beverages with one stone.
Name: Mountain Dew Pitch Black
Alleged Flavor: Mountain Dew "with a blast of Black Grape"
Actual Flavor: Mountain Dew mixed with your average grape soda
Color: The Deepest of Purples
Tasting sample was from: 20 oz. plastic bottle, poured into glass
Following on the heels of their limited edition Code Red (Cherry) and Live Wire (Orange) flavors, the Dew Corporate Brass have introduced Mountain Dew Pitch Black- or Mountain Dew Grape, for those of us who aren’t part of the XTREME snowboarder culture Mountain Dew is obviously targeting.
So how does it taste? Like grape-flavored Mountain Dew. Not sure what’s so "black grape" about this, other than the ton of food coloring they dumped in. So is this a good taste? Well, it’s not a BAD taste. As grape sodas go, I like this better than most, most likely because the Dew’s citrus flavor cuts a little of the grape. Grape sodas generally strike me as too sweet, so this was a bit of a treat. Not an everyday soda for me, but not bad in execution.
Not for the faint of heart related story: I guess that food coloring has to go somewhere.
Review: 5 out of 10.
Name: Mountain Dew Pitch Black- Part II
Alleged Flavor: Mountain Dew "with a blast of grape flavor with a SOUR BITE"
Actual Flavor: Mountain Dew with a blast of grape SWEET TARTS
Color: A nice light purple on the can’s rim, somehow a super dark purple in the glass.
Tasting sample was from: 12 oz. can, poured into glass
About 8 months after Pitch Black, Mountain Dew goes for a sequel. Pitch Black II just hit the shelves (did we learn NOTHING from New Coke? A II after a soda’s name is the kiss of death!). The difference- it’s still grape flavored Mountain Dew, but this time it has a SOUR BITE. Which is something I think Montain Dew itself could use- see my review of Sun Drop.
So, does the newly-sour Pitch Black bite? Not hardly. In fact, it’s a mighty fine tart beverage. The grape flavor is very reminiscent of Sweet Tarts- sweet, but very sour and tangy. Grape is not my favorite flavor, but this is grape done right. A nice showing from the Dew camp. Data on what the sequel does to your…uh, leavings…is not yet available.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
The good people at The Impulsive Buy naturally beat me to this. They like the original better, but are fine with the sequel.