The Surprising Soda Originally Designed As A Whiskey, Bourbon Mixer

Whiskey and bourbon are staples of Southern alcohol with Kentucky and Tennessee producing the bulk of it. It's too good to hide up in the hollers, which is why you can find some sort of mixed drink with them at any bar. If a Jack and Coke is the father of whiskey-soda cocktails, then the combination of whiskey and Mountain Dew is its lesser-known child. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Appalachia's beloved soda and homemade liquor crossed paths at some point or another.

In the 1940s, bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman invented a lemon-lime mixer using a slang term for moonshine: "mountain dew." The citrus soda we know today was a project between multiple people and companies, ultimately landing in the hands of PepsiCo in 1964. Its initial marketing featured cartoon mascot Willy the Hillbilly who exclaimed it would "tickle yore innards cause there's a bang in every bottle!" These spunky advertisements hit home with the Appalachian crowd in the same regions where American whiskey and bourbon were produced, but over time, PepsiCo distanced its branding from alcohol to cater to a broader, younger demographic.

There's a fine line between crazy and genius, and Mountain Dew with whiskey sure is walking it. Conceptually, combining a honeyed liquor like bourbon with citrus is reasonable. Whiskey sours and spiked Arnold Palmer drinks have lemon, so is a citrus soda that much of a jump? Mixing this sweet Southern drink with bourbon isn't a sin, but Mountain Dew's modern recipe has high-fructose corn syrup, lacking the pleasant tartness fresh citrus juice gives to whiskey cocktails.

Mountain Dew and whiskey is akin to a vodka Red Bull or Jägerbomb in that it softens the burn, giving you all the warm feelings without an overpowering alcohol taste. Depending on how much you pour, the liquor's unique flavor can get lost, so it's better to try this drink with bottom-shelf bourbons. The ideal way to enjoy a whiskey-dew (or hate it less) is putting it on the rocks with a chilled, carbonated can of Mountain Dew. The fizzy cold sensation with a squeeze of lime helps break up the syrupy sweetness — it'll "tickle yore innards" all right.