Mello Yello vs Mountain Dew
A big thank you to my cousins in Georgia who kindly played along and shipped up a bottle of Mello Yello for us to evaluate.
It’s been a long time since Mello Yello was available in the Northeast and while their logo has changed through the years, I think they had it perfect with the first one. I’d say the same goes for Mountain Dew. I don’t know about Mello Yello, but from my observations, Mt. Dew is mostly popular with males who are under 30 years old. I’m not sure what it is: the intense sweetness, the elevated caffeine, the vibrant yellow #5?
I also thought it was kind of interesting that Mountain Dew’s angle for a while was “Do the Dew!” which included skateboarding, mountain climbing and riding sharks. In comparison, Mello Yello does indeed seem more mellow as the commercials I found are uncomfortable situations between males and females asking “How would you stay smooth?”.
Ethan and I tasted this and then I brought the rest of the Mello Yello bottle into work to be tasted by our resident everyday Mt. Dew drinker, (who is a 24 year old male) Brendan.
Mello Yello:
We were out of our usual plastic tasting cups so we used wine glasses. It’s kind of funny how this almost looks like chardonnay (or pee).
The color was a little brighter yellow than how the picture came out. Ethan and I felt this was extremely sweet and syrupy. Brendan’s notes on this were the same, he felt it was okay but also said it was more syrupy than Mountain Dew and that dominated the flavor. I thought it tasted a lot like sprite and wondered if that is the base for this soda.
Mountain Dew:
This was very similar to Mello Yello, almost undetectably different but it does has a very lemony flavor that I felt tasted like those free lollipops you get at the bank.
Ethan said this was very citrusy but didn’t really see why he used to like it so much in college. I guess its worth noting that both drinks have orange juice in them too which probably helps add to the strong similarities between them.
Wrap up:
We really didn’t notice much difference between the two and I can see why in some areas of the country only one of them is offered. I will say that Brendan, being a hard core “Dewer” prefered Dew and felt Mello Yello was sweeter but he didn’t say he would never drink it again, if offered. In fact, he finished the rest of the bottle. I’d be interested to know which is more popular in areas where both of these are sold, which as the Coca-Cola distribution rep told me, is only in the south.
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November 3rd, 2008 at 3:00 am
as a child we always drank mellow yellow, however we were in Wisconsin, hardly considered ‘the south’
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 am
I’d rather have neither as I don’t like citrus flavored soda!
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
DEW DEW DEW! Then again I live in VT and have never had Mello Yellow before…but the song is nice! “They call me mello yellow…”
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
jdeuel: I occasionally drank Mello Yello as a kid too, in New England. As Michelle says though, it’s not available here anymore. I think if you looked now, you’d have a hard time finding Mello Yello in Wisconsin too. But who knows, maybe the Coke rep was wrong.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I like Diet MD best. It really is quite remarkable how undiety it tastes! This blog is great, I can’t wait for the Jif vs. Skippy debate.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
The wine glasses were a really nice touch. Well done.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Both sodas are available in Indiana so I don’t know what that Coke rep is talking about! I won’t drink either of them but my husband is addicted to Diet Dew. Bleh!
November 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
We’ve had Mello Yellow in MN for a very long time. I like neither.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I grew up in Minnesota and I remember drinking both a lot as a kid (I remember the old labels, too!) … but now that I mention it I hadn’t seen Mello Yello for a long time. I remember I liked both and thought they pretty much tasted the same.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:00 am
I’m a 34 year old woman. In my adolescence and early adulthood my favorite soda was Dr. Pepper. Later I became more and more fond of Mountain Dew. And with Kroger being the main grocery store here in my part of Ohio, I’ve learned something interesting.
I like Kroger’s version of Dew better than Pepsi’s. Compared to the Kroger brand, Pepsi’s Dew looks like vitamin B piss and doesn’t taste so hot either.
BUT. In the last year or so I’ve switched to diet soda; my system can’t take all that liquid sugar anymore, it makes me sick. As it turns out, Pepsi’s Diet Dew contains sucralose in addition to ace-K and aspartame sweeteners. This makes it taste about a hundred times better than Kroger’s diet version.
I’m kind of annoyed, because the price difference is pretty drastic and I’d rather be buying the store brand. But man. I can’t choke the Kroger diet stuff down. Ew.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
one of my favorite sayings is
“Like a spider monkey jacked up on Dew” Every heard of a spider monkey jacked up on Mello Yellow?
November 5th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
There’s something strangely beautiful about seeing Mountain Dew in a wine glass.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Both Mello Yello and Mountain Dew are available in Michigan. I’d say Mt. Dew is more popular.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
We drank gallons of Mello Yello as children in south Georgia; it paired well with the classic chocolate MoonPie. We called it Meller Yeller though. No lie.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:17 am
i’m from GA and both are readily available, but i never drunk mellow yellow until i got to college and all they had were coke machines on campus, but i still prefer the dew over the mellow
November 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I can’t believe you drank Mountain Dew and Mellow Yellow out of wine glasses!! That is seriously classy!!
November 9th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Am I the only one who noticed Mello Yellow contains the word “mellow”, while Dew is always marketed as “extreme”?
November 9th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Did you read the whole post Red? It touches on that briefly…
November 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Sorry, all this sugar and caffeine is giving me the shakes! Love the blog.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I grew up in Wisconsin as well, and while I never considered myself a conosseiur of the shocking-yellow-indeterminate-citrus-soda genre,* I always thought of Mello Yello as the low-rent version of Mountain Dew. Basically,
Alec Baldwin : Billy Baldwin :: Mountain Dew : Mello Yello
At least in my head.
*I also enjoy the names of the store brands of this genre, my favorite being MOUNTAIN FURY.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I think my favorite store brand knock-off name is MOUNTAIN LIGHTNING by Wal-Mart (even though I dislike Wal-Mart).
November 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Mello Yello is the only soda for me - WI, MI & IA have it. When on vacation, I take along enough to last until I get home. We have at least 6 - 12 paks in the larder in case they stop production.
Daughter & husband are also into it.
Do not like Dew any more. Very discerning taste. In ny pre-new coke phase, I could distinguish between Coke, new Coke, Pepsi (blah), and all of the other brown drinks. Cherry Coke is made with the new Coke formula.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I’m in NC, and remember when my GA cousins (who worked for Coke at the time) brought up a new drink to our house–Mello Yello. But, here in my neck of woods, a drink called Sun-Drop kicks the butt of both Mello Yello and Mt. Dew. It’s the same type of drink, but not quite as sweet. Try it if you find it.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
To me, If I had to choose, I would always pick Mountain Dew over Mellow Yellow. For some reason I felt that Mellow Yellow had more fizz and more syrup. Mountain Dew was a lot smoother and has less viscosity thus deeming it more “chugable.” Which is the reason why on hot, humid Indiana days I would always grab a mountain dew.
December 13th, 2008 at 4:58 am
If you go to a restaraunt, its always either coke products or pepsi products (at least it is here in MO), which meant if you liked green citrus soda, like me, it was either mellow yellow or mountain dew, and because of my experience with that everytime i go out to eat, theyre completely inter-changable for me, they are a bit different but oddly enough i like both, sometimes i want mellow yellow and other times i want the MD.
December 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Mello Yello is only available in the midwest, not in the south.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Like ‘em both, prefer Mello Yello. When I was in high school the corner store down the street from my job had a vending machine stocked full of Mello Yello cans for 25 cents each. That’s all any of us ever would drink. I got hooked. Now I wait for a sale before buying it…which is what I did last week, and why I’m on this site now because I’m enjoying a Mello Yello with my lunch. Great site!
January 8th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Mt Dew all the way. Superior!
January 13th, 2009 at 4:20 am
I am from Northern Minnesota, I am 27 years old and have ALWAYS had access to both sodas. In fact pretty much every town up here over pop. 10,000 seems to have both a Pepsi and Coke bottling plant. The restaurants have contracts with either or company so for example, if we decide to eat at Applebee’s, you have to order from Pepsi products but, if you eat at Perkins, it’s Coke products only. I will drink Mellow Yellow if it’s offered. It’s decent, but if I have a choice, I MUCH prefer Mt. Dew. It’s my favorite pop by far. I don’t get how people can’t tell a difference. It’s like Coke and Pepsi. They have COMPLETELY different tastes to me. I like Coke but if I get a swig of Pepsi, It’s actually hard for me to swallow. Blech. So yeah, Mt. dew, superior product. Mellow Yellow is the “fake version”.
January 24th, 2009 at 5:53 am
I live in southern Indiana, and both are sold here. I like mello yello better. I work in a store that only sells mt. dew. But other places sell mello yello. They even sell it at the coke machine across the parking lot (that I go to every day to buy one). So why can’t we sell mello yello? I asked a merchandiser from Coke when she was in our store, and you know what she said to me? Their distibutor, in Nashville, won’t let us sell it. Nashville only distributes vaults for small stores. She agrees with me that it would sell better than vault. We get vaults expired all the time. We always have. Yet they keep sending it to us. The ignorant Coke distributors in Nashville need to be more observant of the markets they distribute to. It’s not black and white; some places prefer vault, some prefer vault, and some would like both. I’m sure some would even do better with neither.
February 21st, 2009 at 3:15 am
I think your Mello Yello might’ve been flat…
It is usually more carbonated and has alot of bubbles…
For me, its tied between Mello Yello and Mtn Dew.
I usually drink Mello Yello more though because I like coke products more…
February 27th, 2009 at 1:25 am
I’m from Nebraska and they sell Mello Yello here too. I do like Mello Yello but most people go for Mountain Dew around here. I have to admit they taste relatively the same.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:31 am
I live in Orlando and we have MD and while it is a little tricky to find we do sell Mello Yello here so it is in the south. MD vastly outsells Mello Yello but Mello Yello’s taste is SO much better.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I agree with Mello Yello Man above. I also live in Orlando and find it tricky to find Mello Yello. I know a couple of restaurants sell it as a fountain drink, but only seem to find 20oz MY in Hess Gas stations. I used to live in Michigan where you couldn’t find it anywhere anymore. My brother lives in nashville where you can get it anywhere(target, publix gas stations etc). I visited last month and stocked up on 12 pk cans of MY. It tastes alot more citrusy and delicious than Mountain Dew although I like dew as well. Side note, I think vault tastes like crap.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I don’t like either of these, but I do enjoy Sun Drop once in a while. It’s the same basic flavor, but a little lighter.
March 24th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Vault is the best of them all!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Mt. Dew is much, much better.
From Ohio.. Both are available, but I really can’t remember the last time I saw a Mello Yellow commercial. I am sure I must’ve at some point in life. I did just get a book for my birthday title Mountain Dew: The History, so I’m a little biased.
I think the closest flavor to Mt. Dew is Big K’s Citrus Drop though. I really do think there is a big difference in flavor between Mt. Dew and Mello Yellow.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:19 am
Coca-cola tried to replace Mello Yello here in Wisconsin with Surge and then Vault. Both tasted like glorified green kool-aid. Surge failed and Vault is now on clearance everywhere.
Mello Yello is my favorite and has been for over a decade. Mt Dew is extremely sweet and flat. Go ahead and shake a can…no eruptions when you open it. To drink Dew it has to be absolutely ice cold otherwise it makes you feel sick to your stomach.
Mello Yello is my favorite beverage and I wish they would market it nation-wide. I was in Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina and couldn’t find Mello Yello anywhere. When I asked for it, they looked at me like I had a foot growing out of my forehead.
No contest between these Citrus pops.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Good news!
After seeing Mello Yello in all the Publix grocery stores in Nashville, I contacted corporate and asked them if they could carry it here in Orlando.
Success! The four Publix near my house now carry mello yello 12 pack cans. You can find them at the winter park (near mills and lee and mills and fairbanks), college park and on Colonial near mills locations for those Orlando Yello heads who are on the search.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Well….
I love Mello Yello it is much more citrusy than Mountain Dew. But when you add in Sun Drop to the mix, it has the most pizazz! I live in SC and we have it most places around here.
May 15th, 2009 at 3:13 am
I’m in Iowa, and we’ve got Mello Yello.
I actually like both. I’ll go for the Dew more often, but I like to change it up occasionally. I don’t have a true allegiance to either. Main reason is I drink Dew more often is we’ve got Pepsi machines where I work, so I have to go for the Dew.
Not a huge difference between the two, in my opinion.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I’m from downstate Illinois and we have Mello Yello. I can even find it at the fountain in some Hardee’s. I now live in Arizona and i can’t find it anywhere. I miss it so much.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
You guys are bonkers. Mello-Yello is the only way to go. I was a Mt. Dew junkie and my best friend was a Sun Drop fanatic. Now we both agree, Mello-Yello kicks butt. It has a hint of tangerine which no other yellow drink has and it’s also the only one that’s still good hot. Yes, I said hot, if you have a sore throat try it it will work wonders.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:56 am
[...] get too much into the review since we’ve already done it but feel free to check out the Mello Yello vs Mountain Dew post. Ethan being the former Mountain Dew drinker said he did like how citrusy this is and although [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 12:48 am
i do the dew
June 16th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Mellow Yello is way better than Mountain Dew. While MY is sometimes hard to find in Maryland, I just found out the Subway near my house has it on fountain! Hells yeah!
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 am
so yeah both moutain dew and mellow yellow are offered in North Dakota and that’s about as far north as you can get!!! lol but i do prefer mellow yellow but there really isn’t uch different
July 9th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Both are available in MN, however Dew is FAR easier to find. In the gas station there will be about 12 rows of Dew and 2 rows of Mello Yello, if they have Mello Yello at all. You can NEVER go into a gas station and not find Dew though. Some people around here even think they don’t make mello yello anymore, despite it being offered in most fast food restaurants with coke products. Mello Yello is a lot cheaper. i just went to the grocery store yesterday and Mt Dew was $4.75 compared to $3.20 for Mello Yello. of course…i took the very last case of Mello Yello. Mt Dew was everywhere.
In my opinion there is a pretty big difference in taste. I like both, but i drink Mt Dew more often because it is so readily available. Sometimes i get sick of Mt Dew and switch to Mello Yello to pretend like it really matters. i sorta feel like a rebel drinking mello yello haha.
Mt Dew clearly has the upper hand around here.
July 29th, 2009 at 12:04 am
MELLO YELLO ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Duh!mountain dew its what everyone goes for plus more than one flavor
August 25th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I started drinking Mello Yello when it came in a predominantly Yellow can! I’ve noticed about 3 label design changes since then, as I recall.
For those who can differentiate between the tastes of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, I suggest the difference between Mello Yello and Mountain Dew is very similar. To me, Pepsi is sweeter, Coke seems more carbonated. Mountain Dew is sweeter, Mello Yello seems more carbonated. I personally prefer Coca Cola and Mello Yello.
While vacationing in Minnesota a few years back, I even noticed billboards advertising both Mello Yello and Diet Mello Yello, with availability of both high. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen Diet Mello Yello.
Here in Arkansas, Mello Yello was available until Surge was introduced several years ago. The bottler in Oklahoma that serves our area discontinued Mello Yello in favor of Surge. The only Mello Yello available here since then is in 20oz bottles at some central Arkansas convenience stores, and in a very few isolated restaurants via fountain, one being Krystal Burgers in Springdale.
There are a number of store-brand similar soft drinks, but check the ingredients. Mello Yello and Mountain Dew both include “concentrated orange juice”. The imitators do not.
I typically drink my Mello Yello with orange juice mixed in. Try it, you’ll like it, but it can become habit forming!
Mello Yello is a nearly perfect morning drink, too. It has (1) Orange Juice for breakfast, it has (2) Caffeine for a little kick, and it has (3) bubbles to tickle your nose and help awaken you in good humor! What more could one ask?
August 25th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I neglected to mention that I drive to Missouri to buy Mello Yello.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:28 am
Well I’m an 18 year old female from the north who literally drinks nothing but Mountain Dew. It is my life force. I’ve been drinking it since before I can remember.
I had actually completely forgotten about Mello Yello until I stumbled across this, and it reminded me that, before my downward spiral into Mountain Dew addiction, my favorite soda was Mello Yello.
If they still sold it around here, who knows, perhaps I would be drinking it instead.
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
i’m from north carolina, and we sell both mountain dew, and mello yello. (and mountain lightning, you know, the store brand.) i enjoy both drinks. mountain dew is my favourite, but if i can’t get it where i’m at, i’ll get mello yello.
all in all, they taste pretty much the same to me. mello yello has more of the fruity-citrus-taste to me. but mountain dew has more kick from caffeine, anyways, i love them both.
September 12th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I prefer Mountain Dew slightly over Mello Yellow, because it’s a bit more carbonated. But here’s an interesting thing: as a waitress for 6 years, I have discovered that Mountain Dew drinkers, by far, order the most refills.
September 13th, 2009 at 5:46 am
I’m what one may call a Mello Yello addict of sorts (I usually return home from visiting family in KY with a trunk full after buying out all their local Krogers)
M.Y. isn’t available in Central New York except for the local Chuck E Cheese where it is on tap.
I’ve looked into this a bit, and from what I can tell, it’s just the way Pepsi and Coke are set up as companies. Pepsi seems to have a national production schedule, the company seems to advertise at a national level for all their brands they push.
Coke pushes more of just a “branding” scheme- (if you drink Sprite, you know it’s a coke product, tho some may not know who makes Sierra Mist for example) In that spirit, local Coke bottlers are in control of what they feel their area “needs” according to demand. Just to sell “Coke Products”. This is why Mt. Dew is everywhere, but Mello Yello isn’t. It makes me want to take a case down to them and let them see what they’re missing… haha
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
well ive had both mellow yellow and mountain dew my top favrite soda is mountain dew
im from the south and we get mostley coka cola up here in memphis tennesse and well any way im a pepsi guy my top 3 favorites in order are mountain dew sierra mist cranberry splash and pepsi any way ive had all of the flavors of mountain dew made so far except amp energy ive have had voltage its pretty good there are for flavors of mellow yellow ive only had regular well just thought i would let you know all that and to end im a dew drinker for the rest of my life thank you
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
there is also sun drop dr pepper/7 up version of mountain dew thought you might like to know
November 1st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Mello Yello is the best! I’m from Nashville, TN now living in CO and I miss it SO much! Mt. Dew just can’t compare. Coca-cola needs to stop advertising Vault (yuck) and get to the good stuff!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I drink Mello Yello all the time, I can drink Mountain Dew if I must, but there really isn’t anything greater than Mello Yello.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I grew up in South Carolina, drinking Mello Yello. After moving to Texas (where they don’t have Mello Yello), I, for the most part, stopped drinking citrus soda. Mtn. Dew is, in my opinion, too strong. Every once in a while, when a member of my family goes to the southern east coast, that member brings back a twelve pack of Mello Yello, and we gorge ourselves.
In conclusion, I <3 Mello Yello!
December 26th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
i work for coke in n.c. and i have heard that mellow yellow is coming back in early 2010. i cant wait i love it in the morn. it really helps me get going .vault cant hang with mellow yellow.i ll keep you posted .
December 29th, 2009 at 3:06 am
Mountain Dew is way better. Mello Yello is like a much flatter version of it. Also, I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life and we have Mello Yello here - Everywhere. Can’t even get a Mountain Dew on most school campuses because Coke dominates them =(
December 30th, 2009 at 4:31 am
i am a normal dew drinker, but lately have switched to mello yello and after awhile, when you drink mello yello, dew seems TOTALLY FLAT. i cant go back :\
January 10th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
KRIS LIKE DRINAK MELLO YELLO FROM JORDAN LARSEN
January 10th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
mnt dew rules
January 13th, 2010 at 5:21 am
i wished mello yello was easier to find i love mellow yellow but never see it no more
January 14th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
moutain dew kind of like an old man drink if you really think about it is.Older people seem to like it better mello yello is better because it has a very very fun taste to it. Mt dew is alright not better then mello yellow though . IM a big big soda lover. Pce Pce ducez Swagalicious
January 15th, 2010 at 7:45 am
here in South Dakota we have both Dew and Mello Yello, in my days as a yong child i liked mello yello better, but at about age 6 i switched to Dew, now i will drink and enjoy both but given the choice ill take Dew almost everytime. My girlfriend on the other hand is a mello yello fan and if thirsty will drink Dew, but wont pick it ove mellow yellow ever.
January 17th, 2010 at 2:33 am
I grew up in Ohio and had limited availability on Mello Yello. We used to buy bottles of it when we visited North Carolina. At times it becomes available for a period of time (like right now it’s everywhere!), but usually you have to hunt for it (it was only on tap at a Burger King and Subway for a time).
Mello Yello has a stronger citrus (acidic) taste to it and Mountain Dew has a bit of lemon to it. I had also enjoyed 50/50 (cotton club) which is a citrus based soda. Vault is much stronger in taste as compared to Mello Yello (you should do a taste test of all three) and I will only drink it becuase I know it’s basically a rebranded and slightly different formula of Mello Yello. Working third shift I always relied on Mountain Dew, but I prefer the citrus flavor of Mello Yello (I’ve always been a Coke person, except for the great taste of Dr. Pepper!).
January 21st, 2010 at 3:01 am
i live in Freakin Kentucky baby? and Mellow Yellow is the best!
without a doubt. in fact imdrinking it right know! lol
January 21st, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Oh man Mello Yello for sure. Mello Yello was pretty much my first experience with a high caffeine drink which might be one of the reasons I love it so much. Though, bias aside, I think the real reason I like Mello Yello better is because, in my opinion, it has a sweeter more defined flavor. Mountain Dew’s okay, but it tastes like a watered down Mello Yello. Unfortunately Mello Yello’s a little hard to find in Central VA, but if you go out to the more southern rural towns, you’ll find it.