Product Review: MTN Dew Black Label

Mountain Dew's new "Black Label" soda is purple and candy-like, and absolutely loaded with sugar.

"Black label" is a buzzword du jour, usually referring to something higher-end and special-edition. In the case of Mountain Dew's new MTN Dew Black Label, it's a "deeper darker brew," with "crafted dark berry." The can is black and sleek, and it's made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. We got sent a couple cans, so we decided to take it for a whirl.

The soda itself is a deep shade of purple; It looks a lot like carbonated grape juice because that's the third ingredient. That grape juice is certainly evident in the flavor, but there's also orange and the usual Mountain Dew flavoring; It all amounts to somewhat of a hodgepodge with a flavor that can best be described as a cross between red and purple generic candy, maybe with some Pixy Stick thrown in. All soda may be liquid candy, but this one really tastes the part.

One sixteen-ounce can contains 210 calories, 54 grams of carbohydrates, and 53 grams of sugar.