Knock-off, cheapo, generic, whatever you might call them I’m sure your familiar with them. They are the low cost alternatives to the more popular soda drinks from Pepsi and Coke. There are so many out there, “Sam’s Cola”, “Twist-Up”, “Dr. Thunder”. Virtually any drink that has ever been produced by Coke or Pepsi has been adopted into cheaper alternatives. For the most part, such drinks are to some degree passable. But there is at least one exception that I feel it must be discussed. It is Wal-Mart’s “Mountain Lightning”, a miserable excuse for Mountain Dew.

Now I’m a fair guy, so before I start dumping on this atrocious drink I will at least give it the benefit of the doubt and attempt a fair review. So let’s start with the packaging. Looking at cans of Lightning and Dew and side by site the similarities can be spotted right away. They share a predominately green color scheme and stylized lettering. The letters are colored green and red on the Dew can while the letters on the Lightning can are orange and green. In terms of mimicking can look Lightning gets top marks.

The next point of compassion would be the nutrition facts. Dew is lower in calories with 170 versus Lightning’s 180. However Lightning is better in the sodium department with it’s 35mg versus Dew’s 46mg. The rest of the nutrition facts are pretty identical.

So at this point you are probably asking, “If the packaging is alright and the nutrition level is on part, just what exactly makes Mountain Lightning such an atrocity?” Well it would be the one aspect that is the most important for any beverage, the taste. If you pop open a can of Mountain Lightning excepting to get that classic Mountain Dew taste then you will be disappointed. Lightning has a biting edge to it. It’s harsh immediately upon entering your mouth and leaves a very poor after taste. In contrast, Mountain Dew, the soda that Lightning has the nerve to be a knock-off of, has a smooth satisfying taste. They are both citrus sodas through and through but their respective existence highlights the range of the citrus soda taste spectrum. To be completely honest I might have a more favorable attitude towards Lighting is it wasn’t presenting itself as a Dew alternative and rather as it’s own drink. I personally still won’t drink the soda but I would at least respect it because I know it wasn’t trying to be something it’s obviously not.

Bottom-line if your are looking for a good citrus soda with a taste more in line with Sprite then you might wish to give Lightning a try. However if you are looking to find a cheap alternative to that good ole Mountain Dew then you’d be wise to just stay clear of Mountain Lightning. It will quite literally leave a bad taste in your mouth.