Mountain Dew hot sauce: a review of the flavor mashup
Mountain Dew brought the heat with its hot sauce and they did not disappoint
Just a little over a month ago, news of Mountain Dew’s limited edition hot sauce was announced for everyone to hear. In case you missed it, the hot sauce was made in conjunction with NBA superstar Joel Embiid and Houston hot sauce maker iBurn.
Embiid was heavily involved in the tasting process of the hot sauce which features both the characteristic citrus flavor of Mountain Dew along with fiery habanero peppers. If you haven’t seen it, there is a good reason. Only 500 bottles were made and were only for promotional use and did not hit any type of retailers.
Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on a bottle and was able to sample the flavor. I will tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by the hot sauce. When opening and trying the bottle, I assumed my taste buds would be overwhelmed by the sweetness of Mountain Dew soda or there would be way too much habanero heat to counteract the sweetness.
The Mountain Dew hot sauce successfully blends the flavors of Dew and habanero
Instead, what you get is a true mashup of citrus and habanero just as the bottle describes. When tasting alone, you first get the citrus and it does immediately take your mind to Mountain Dew. However, it is a well-balanced citrus note and it does not overwhelm you with a sweet flavor.
The habanero starts to make its presence felt after a couple of seconds, but it is subtle and not overpowering. Instead of overwhelming you with heat, the hot sauce sings on your tongue with a heat that will last after the initial taste but not cause you to seek an extinguisher for the fire. You taste habanero, but it does not take over the flavors of what you pair the sauce with.
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I did find the hot sauce to be a great addition to avocado toast that was topped with an egg as a substitute for sriracha or any other hot sauce I would normally put on it. It also pairs well with scrambled eggs and was a great addition to a grilled chicken sandwich. It even worked well with fried chicken and provided good flavor to a ham sandwich wrap. I wasn’t surprised to see the sauce work well with a carnitas burrito. If you are able to get your hands on some or if someone you know offers a taste, I would definitely recommend it.