We Tried a 14-Year-Old Can of Discontinued Mountain Dew Supernova

Sure, there are a lot of exciting new Mountain Dew releases coming this year (such as the Walmart-exclusive Mountain Dew Dragonfruit ), but what about the Mountain Dews of yesteryear? The releases that didn’t stick? I’ve decided to once again crack open my Discontinued Dew Vault. This is a special one as I’m approaching my 100th article written with Sporked (if my math is correct, this may even be the 100th article). To celebrate, we’re going back over a decade in the past to a flavor of Mountain Dew that started it all for me: Mountain Dew Supernova. 

What is Mountain Dew Supernova?

Mountain Dew Supernova was a strawberry-melon Mountain Dew flavor that featured ginseng (much like Mountain Dew Voltage). There’s no explicit confirmation anywhere on the internet of the precise type of melon—some believe it to be honeydew, some believe it to be watermelon, and some (myself included) just sort of see it as a generic “melon” flavor.

Mountain Dew Supernova originally released in 2008 as part of a promotion called DEWmocracy. Three flavors—Voltage, Revolution, and Supernova—competed head to head in a nationwide fan vote. Ultimately, Voltage prevailed (and is still on shelves to this day) and Supernova unfortunately came in second place. But its story does not end there. 

In March of 2011, a diet version of Supernova was introduced during the Diet FanDEWmonium promotion, which featured a rematch of (Diet) Voltage and (Diet) Supernova. This time, (Diet) Supernova prevailed, winning by a commanding 10%. Although Diet Supernova was meant to join the permanent lineup, it ended up as an eight-week limited time offer run and was discontinued after that. (That means the score between Supernova and Voltage is now tied at 1-1, and I think this calls for a third zero sugar match for a tiebreaker!)

Full sugar Supernova then received a limited re-release in the United States in the summer of 2011 and hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since. It’s had a few releases in Canada and is slated for another (although it seems to be held up by production issues).

Today, I have a can of 2011 vintage Mountain Dew Supernova that I’m cracking open. Here’s our official review. 

Vintage Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew Supernova (2011) Review

Pros: This can is 14 years expired and it is still carbonated. It has aged like a fine wine. No deliciousness has been lost with age. The strawberry flavor marries the candy-like generic melon flavor in a way that Mountain Dew has not been able to replicate with any other flavor for me. Then you get the kick of ginseng on the finish. If you’ve had Voltage before, you know the “kick” I’m talking about. I wish more flavors of Mountain Dew included ginseng, because it’s a really nice addition to any flavor. For me, this is unequivocally the best flavor of Mountain Dew, and though I think some flavors have come close, none have surpassed it.

Cons: Is it lame of me to say, “No notes, this is perfect?” Because no notes. This is the perfect Mountain Dew.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

VERDICT: BRING IT BACK! 

(Bring it back. Bring it back.) I have been leading a movement on social media to really push Pepsi and show them that the demand for Mountain Dew Supernova is there (and you can’t tell me this tweet doesn’t mean anything). So, if you want to see Mountain Dew Supernova return, make sure you make your voice heard and use #BringBackSupernova on social media!