MAYrathon 2.0 Day 30 - Mountain Lion (a 16 year journey)

There's something about coming full circle, and there's almost a poetry to it. Let me explain. Growing up, the family had a time share in Myrtle Beach, and we spent many adventures there during my teen years. I like Myrtle Beach so much that my friends and I decided to go there for Spring Break during our senior year of High School. The hotel was a dump and we weren't able to buy booze legally, but we made the best of it. What stands out most during that trip was two items. One was a key chain of  pig that pooped; I even made a song of it, much to the chagrin of my friends. And second, was the local Food Lion grocery store's off-brand version of Mountain Dew called Mountain Lion. I was obsessed with how stupid it is and began to notice every grocery store seemed to have their own Mountain flavored soda. We even made a commercial about it and was probably my first foray into soda reviewing. 

In my early 20s, my best friend Andy and I went to Myrtle Beach during the last year my parents had the time share. Of course, it was my destiny to once again quench my thirst with stupid Mountain Lion and make fun of goobers in camouflage in the middle of a hot beach.

Eleven years have gone by since that trip, and I haven't thought much about Myrtle Beach. Then I had a series of unfortunate events overcome me in early 2017. I was able to pick myself up, but not without a lot of moral support and time. I realized, if I wanted to move forward, I needed to take a spiritual journey of sorts. To go out on my own for awhile and just...be. I of course thought of Myrtle Beach which is where I am today. And I of course had to get me some Mountain Lion. The bottle may look different, it may now advertise its MAXIMUM taste, and even the size of the bottle is different. But it's still good old Mountain Lion. And it tastes...like a cheap Mt. Dew knockoff. But it's MY cheap Mt. Dew knockoff dammit! Thanks, Mountain Lion, for being a part of my teens, twenties and thirties. See you in six years. 

MAYrathon 2.0 Day 26 - Ale-8-one

Ale-8-One. Or Ale-81. Or Ale-8. Or A-Late-One. Whatever you call it, this is one of the last few sodas on my must try mental list. This is just one of those pops I've seen throughout the years but have never tried it to the best of my knowledge. And I can see why too - until recently, it was only a regional soda based out of Kentucky until in 2016, when Cracker Barrel started selling it in their fountain machines. Since then, it's gained popularity far and wide, and while still only really distributed in the Kentucky area, it's pretty easy to find.

Ale-8-One is essentially a caffeinated ginger ale soda with citrus. Apparently the recipe is a highly guarded secret with only two living people aware of its composition. The back of the bottle comes with a little story too. Let's read: "Ale-8-One has been a Kentucky favorite since G.L. Wainscott blended the first batch in 1926. The name Ale-8-One or "A Late One" was adopted to describe the latest thing in soft drinks. Today, our unique mix of ginger and fruit is still made using the same secret recipe handed down from Mr. Wainscott." Kentucky locals, when done breedin' sheep and shuckin' corn, are known to mix it with local bourbons (Kentucky Cocktail) or vodka (Tender Lovin'). 

As I said, I'm genuinely excited for this one. I twist off the bottle and it's a shocking combination of both Mountain Dew and ginger ale. Both senses are prevalent and there's no denying that's what I smell. I never thought to mix those two flavors together, but maybe Kentucky is onto something here. Let's see...I'm surprised how much Mountain Dew flavor I get out of this. And not like some grocery store knock-off or Mello-Yello, this is straight up Mountain Dew with a bit of ginger. If you're a fan of Doing the Dew, then I would recommend giving this one  a shot. I am not disappointed in the least! 

Kickapoo Joy Juice

I was immediately drawn in by the name of this beverage – Kickapoo Joy Juice. At first I thought maybe it was a tie-in to the failed Tenacious D film where Jack Black's character sings about being from Kickapoo with Meatloaf and Dio (This Song), but I did a little research and found that it is a tie-in, but to Lil' Abner, a popular comic strip from the 30s to the 50s. Huh? Let's take a look at sample of Lil' Abner.

LOL?

I don't get it either, but apparently the then-popular comic included two redneck poachers named (sigh) Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, who were known for making their moonshine-like slurry known as Joy Juice. The creator of the comic strip, Andy Capp, also popular for making Andy Capp's Hot Fries, made a deal with a soft drink company instead of a liquor company, and the rest is history.

Appearance -

The bottle shows our good pals Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat (why is he lonesome when he's got Joe by his side?) toasting to another fine batch of Kickapoo Joy Juice. Great work fellas. They also inform us that this is the “Original Dogpatch Recipe.” Thank God because nothing gets my goat worse than a bunch of Dogpatch phonies trying to make a profit off us rubes. Finally, instead of an expiration date like all beverages are required to have (they've been making this since 1965, so I have no idea how old this actually is), there's a simple message explaining that “Kickapoo is Good 4 U.” Bad grammar and, at 45g sugar per bottle, an outright lie. Don't try to pull the wool over my face, Mr. Abner.

Smell/First Sip -

Smells like Mello Yello or Mountain Dew. Something tells me that's what it's going to taste like. (sips) Even

better/worse: it tastes like one of those grocery store knockoff brands of Mountain Dew that just didn't quite get the recipe right. Like my favorite knock-off: Mountain Holler. Sure they tried to get the formula right, but it's just not up to par with the original. I have a few more sips and notice a very low carbonation and almost metallic taste. If cheap were a taste, this would taste cheap.

Drinkability -

The novelty of it is fun. It's got a silly name, two rednecks toasting on the bottle and could be a great collector's item for all you Lil' Abner fans (anyone? anyone?), but in the world of delicious Mountain Dew available at pretty much every store in America, why would I go out of my way to search for a lesser-quality Dew knockoff? Sorry Kickapoo, you're neither a joy nor a juice.

Overall – Kickapoo is a one and done for me...until they perfect their dogpatch formula.