Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew is a soft drink flavoured with citrus produced by the Pepsi Company[?].

In the U.S. and New Zealand, Mountain Dew has a higher caffeine content than Coca-Cola, but the Mountain Dew marketed in Australia and Canada has no caffeine added. Mountain Dew was originally marketed as "zero proof moonshine" and had pictures of hillbillies on the bottle. The marketing target as of 2002 is radically different. The drink is mainly marketed to people in the 20-30 age group and Mountain Dew advertising creates a connection between the drink and Extreme sports.

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Mountain Dew was originally southern and/or Irish slang for moonshine (homemade whiskey). An 1882 song from Ireland "The Mountain Dew" (Words by Edward Harrigan. Music by Dave Braham) begins:

Let grasses grow and waters flow

In a free and easy way,

But give me enough of the rare ould stuff,

That's made near Galway Bay,

Come gougers all from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim too,

And we'll give them the slip and we'll take a sip,

Of the rare ould mountain dew.

A 1947 version by Grandpa Jones[?] may be better-known to Americans:

There's a big holler tree down the road here from me

where you lay down a doller er two.

When you come round the bend and when you come back again

there's a jug full of good old mountain dew

Oh they call it that old mountain dew and them that refuse it are few.

I'll shut up my mug if you fill up my jug with some good old mountain dew.