The REAL Reason Why Mountain Dew Was Created

During a recent roadtrip, we heard country singer Chris Janson's song "Fix A Drink" about three billion times.  Like a lot of people, listen to a little of everything and, as far as country songs go, this is one of my favorites.  I've screamed along with the song dozens of times, but until this trip, never bothered really listen to the lyrics.

Part of the song goes, "But if you got some cheap whisky and some Mountain Dew".  My first thought was: GROSS!  But, then I looked into it (wikipedia is a great thing) and found out that Mountain Dew's original purpose was as a mixer for whiskey.

According to Wikipedia, the citrus soda was created in the 1940s by Barney and Ally Hartman as a mixer.  Back in the 30s and early 40s, soft drinks were sold regionally and the Hartman's had difficulty finding the perfect soda to mix with their booze (specifically, whiskey), so they made their own.

As Mountain Dew was slang for whiskey or moonshine, naming the soda that made perfect sense.

Over the weekend, I did some extensive testing (using the scientific method, of course) to see if it did make a good mixer.  Turns out, it does!

If you're at least 21, give it a try...  Responsibly, of course.