Episode 19 is out for those following along. This week we are again joined by Shawn Robare from Branded in the 80s. this week the guys and I discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Soda.

As you know, I talk about soda A LOT on this blog. I’m a big soda enthusiast so this is a fun episode for me. We don’t touch on the big topics like New Coke or Crystal Pepsi in any type of depth, but we do mention them. Honestly, discussing those two soda disasters could take an entire episode on its own.  But we discuss many other sodas.  We talk about our personal favorites, some favorites that have been cancelled as well as a nice discussion on the availability of Coke and Pepsi (or non-availability) in restaurants.

Download this episode from iTunes or listen to it on Feedburner. And yes, we are still on the Zune Marketplace.

A few years ago I wrote two articles for the Archie McPhee website Monkey Goggles. They also republished two other articles I wrote here (Glorious Glass and Origins of Our Favorite Toys).  It was a fun little site with quirky humor/pop culture articles and I was glad to contribute.  My buddy Shawn over at Branded in the 80s also wrote a few articles for the site.

Anyway, it seems that the Monkey Goggles website has stopped updating.  There haven’t been any new articles for the last year or so (since editor Geoff Carter left).  So, like Shawn, I decided to archive my articles here before they are swallowed by the Internet.  Today, you are looking at the first all-new article I wrote for the site.  It’s about failed soda.

The Cola Wars of the ’80s and ’90s really brought about a lot of competitive creativity between Pepsi and Coke (and to a lesser degree, 7-Up). They threw whatever soda flavor they could conceive of against the wall to see what would stick. Some worked (Cherry Coke, Mountain Dew Code Red), and some blew up in their faces like a novelty cigar (New Coke, Crystal Pepsi).

Instead of marveling at the thrills of victory, let’s wallow in the agony of their failures. Here’s a list of some of the most spectacular soda failures from the long history of the Cola Wars.

New Coke - No list like this one is complete without mentioning the Godfather of all soda failures. Released in 1985, New Coke caused the collective soda-drinking world to lose its damn mind. Coke drinkers actually tried to levy a class action lawsuit against Coke for releasing the new formula. (Seriously.)

It was a fiasco. Coke was forced to bring back Coke Classic not three months after releasing New Coke. After the return of Classic Coke, New Coke was re-branded Coke II and then died a slow death in 1992. The “Classic” moniker still exists on the can to this day. (Read a more complete history of New Coke here).

Crystal Pepsi - Apparently Pepsi wanted in on all the hate mail and lawsuits Coke got for New Coke. So they decided that they too would try something new. In 1992, Crystal Pepsi was released with great fanfare, including a high-profile commercial during that year’s Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, Crystal Pepsi failed to live up to expectations. A clear cola that didn’t have a lemon-lime taste frightened and confused the soda-drinking public. It became more a novelty than a soda to be taken seriously. Many people don’t remember, though, that for its first year Crystal Pepsi sold well enough to grab an 11% market share (and caused Coke to release the next item on this list). After that banner year, however, the bottom dropped out and Crystal Pepsi’s sales plummeted.

As a last ditch effort, Pepsi reformulated Crystal Pepsi with a lemon-lime flavor and re-branded it as Crystal by Pepsi. Too little, too late.

TaB Clear – Coke released this clear soda in 1992 after the strong first year sales of Crystal Pepsi. After the clear soda crash that same year, it was quickly discontinued.

OK Soda - In 1992, Coke decided to try something new and released this less carbonated, more fruity soda with anunconventional marketing campaign. Fliers, soda “manifestos” and “underground” phone numbers with voicemail were used to target the youth market. This tactic was definitely different, but it backfired as the targeted audience realized it was being marketed what executives at Coke believed to be an “edgy” soft drink. After poor sales, OK Soda was discontinued in 1993.

7 Up Gold – Released in 1988, 7-Up Gold was a real departure for 7-Up. It had a spicy taste similar to Ginger Ale and it contained caffeine. According to reviews, the taste was terrible and the soda was canceled within a year.

DnL – This second departure for 7-Up came in 2002. DnL was formulated to be the opposite of regular 7-Up (the logo is even the 7-Up logo turned upside down). 7 Up is a clear soda in a green bottle. DnL was a greenish soda in a clear bottle. Also, unlike regular 7-Up, DnL was heavily caffeinated and had a more difficult-to-identify, citrus-y taste. It was discontinued in 2006 after poor sales.

Mountain Dew Sport – This 1990 release was designed as a “sports drink” to compete with Gatorade. A diet version was also released the same year. In 2001, ten years after Mountain Dew Sport was canceled, Pepsi decided to simply buy Gatorade outright.

Mello Yello Melon and Afterglow – In order to spice up flagging Mello Yello sales (and in response to the success of Mountain Dew Code Red), Coke released these two flavor extensions around 2003. However, peach- and melon-flavored Mello Yello did not exactly set the soda world on fire and they were canceled within a year.

Pepsi Patio - Released in 1963 as a response to Diet Rite cola, this was Pepsi’s first diet drink. There were several Patio flavors: cola, orange, grape, strawberry and root beer. Patio was canceled within six months of its debut due to poor sales.

However, it was not a total loss.While the other flavors in the Patio line were dropped, the cola flavor was reformulated and re-introduced as Diet Pepsi in 1964.

Coke C2 and Pepsi Edge - Both released in 2004, these rival beverages were meant to be “full-flavored” diet sodas (meaning: they were somewhat “in-between” sodas that weren’t fully diet, but not full-calorie, either). Coke and Pepsi had trouble marketing the sodas, and sales of both suffered. Pepsi Edge was discontinued in 2005, but Coke stuck with Coke C2 until 2008. Interestingly, Pepsi Max and Coke Zero now fill the void these two sodas left behind.

Well, you may have heard the girlish screams coming from Jacksonville this weekend, because I found brand new 12 packs of the 2011 Pitch Black.

As a matter of fact, I’m drinking one of them right now. And it’s delicious. It tastes exactly as I remember. Mt Dew citrus + black grape = toe curling awesomeness. And the design of the 12 pack/cans are nearly identical to the original release. Pepsi really only updated the logo. Check it out compared to the original Pitch Blacks I and II (left to right).

I love that they kept the design of the can so close to the original. Even including the silver Limited Edition label.

I thought I would let another, possibly more impartial, person taste the new drink to see if it is, in fact, still tasty.  In a bid for parent of the year, I decided the impartial judge will be my 8 month old son, PJ.  He was certainly up to the task and tore into the can like he was Teen Wolf and Pitch Black was a can of beer.

I’m sure Pepsi will be thrilled that they passed the “8 month old boy” taste test with flying colors.

Like I said, it tastes awesome and I look forward to finishing my 12 pack. I’m going to stock up on these like a case of fine French Bordeaux because I don’t know how long they’ll be around. Maybe Pepsi plans on re-releasing Pitch Black II later in the year?  We’ll see.  Hopefully Pitch Black can be an annual release every year much like Cranberry Sierra Mist (which is also awesome).

Yes, according to Mt Dew on Facebook, the fan favorite Mt Dew Pitch Black from Halloween 2004 is returning to store shelves in 2011.  Being a soda dork this, for me, is like the announcement of another Back to the Future movie or The Fat Boys releasing a new album.  This is EPIC.

I reviewed all three of the different iterations of Mt Dew Pitch black in my AWESOME-tober-fest 2008 article here.

Here are some pics of the original Pitch Black:

Box from a 12 pack of Pitch Black cans

Label from a 20oz bottle of Pitch Black.

ICEE version of Mt Dew Pitch Black sold in Target during Halloween 2007.

(via xpectations)
The fairly rare Canadian Pitch Black which was caffeine free. The Pitch Black in the states, as far as I know, was not offered without caffeine.

(via Valeri-DBF)
Mt Dew Pitch Black as a lip balm. For the last few years, this was the only way you could get Pitch Black. Notice that it uses the newer Mt Dew logo (well, newer than the 2004 cans and bottles).

Mt Dew is back doing the whole Dewmocracy voting thing. If you remember, back in 2008 Mountain Dew released three test market flavors nationwide (SuperNova, Voltage and Revolution) and had people vote on which one became the new permanent Mt Dew flavor.  This resulted in Mt Dew Voltage winning a permanent spot on the nation’s shelves.  Well, Mt Dew is doing this whole thing again with three new flavors for us to try and vote on.  They were released to stores this April and they are Mt Dew Distortion, Mt Dew White Out and Mt Dew Typhoon.  Let’s see if they are any good.

Mt Dew Distortion – This flavor is a lime-blasted Mt Dew. The taste is very similar to the Taco Bell exclusive Mt Dew Baja Blast.  This Dew is a little bit more bitter on the aftertaste than Baja Blast, mainly because Baja Blast has pineapple in its flavor to tone that down.  I like lime, I like Mt Dew, so I like this flavor.  However, the coloring and label are too similar to the original Dew and it doesn’t stand out enough for me.  A good flavor that may get lost in the shuffle.

Mt Dew White Out – Unlike Distortion, this flavor does stand out.  The bright white and blue packaging and disconcertingly white liquid color make this stand out from the drink cooler in every way. How is the taste? Well, it’s labeled as a “smooth citrus” Dew and it doesn’t lie, it is definitely smooth tasting. A light, sweet Dew with very little aftertaste.  I’m just wondering how this smooth citrus is different than the regular Dew citrus? Once again, confusion with the existing brand.  I can see this getting votes on it’s mild taste and eye-catching design.

Mt Dew Typhoon – This is a tropical Punch infused Mountain Dew.  I love the blue/red color combination and the bright red liquid color (but, that too is very similar to Mt Dew Code Red).    The taste is very good.  It has a nice fruit punch flavor that works well with the normal Mt Dew citrus.  The taste actually reminds me of the limited edition Halo 3 Mt Dew Game Fuel from 2008.  I would say that this is my favorite flavor so far, with White Out second and Distortion a close third.  However, unless they make these in diet, I really won’t be drinking them.  Which is a shame, because I like all three of these flavors.  I actually think all of these flavors are much better than the Diet Mt Dew UltraViolet they released last fall.  If they made any of these in diet I would regularly drink it.

So, how’s the voting going?  If you go to Dewmocracy.com, you can see an up to date map by state of the results.


As of 4/26, Mt Dew Typhoon is ahead by 1%. My adopted state of Florida is, so far, supporting Typhoon. My home state of Alabama is supporting White Out.  We’ll see how it goes, things have been changing daily because Typhoon and White Out are so close in voting.

Now let’s look at two more soda flavors that are newly upon store shelves.

Pepsi Max Cease Fire – This soda took me by surprise earlier this year as I had no idea they were planning it.  I’ve been somewhat out of the soda news loop, I guess.  This is Pepsi Max with a squeeze of lime.  It is very good.  It’s a promotion with Doritos to promote their new 1st Degree, 2nd Degree and 3rd Degree Burn flavors.  I normally like to squeeze lemon or lime into my darker sodas like Diet Pepsi, Coke Zero or Pepsi Max.  This does it for me.  The lime flavoring is good, but it still tastes a little artificial.  It’s not a substitute for a real lime squeeze, but it’s the next best thing.  I really do like this stuff.  Also, as an FYI, the new Doritos “Burn” flavors are super HOT.  Even the 1st Degree Burn Blazin’ Jalapeno is almost too hot for me.  They really amped up the heat on those chips.  Beware.

Sunkist Solar Fusion – An alteration to the normal orange Sunkist, this is Tropical Mandarin Sunkist.  I’m digging the stylized “S” on the label and the name is cool; Solar Fusion.  So far, the design is a winner.  The taste is pretty good.  There’s a little bit more depth to the orange flavoring than the traditional orange Sunkist.  The taste reminds me of Mt Dew Livewire, the orange Mt Dew that is only available in certain markets.

I can recommend all of these new sodas. If you see any of them, give them a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

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