As should be obvious from the sheer number of articles I have written about Mountain Dew, I am also a big fan of Mountain Dew’s so-called energy drink AMP. The actual ability to give me a burst of energy is not why I like Mountain Dew AMP because, frankly, I get no burst of energy. Perhaps because I have consumed so much caffeine in my life that I have attained a rather unpleasant immunity to energy drinks like AMP and Red Bull, I just don’t have any real need to drink them for that purpose. Good thing I like the flavor. Not too long ago a cherry flavored Mountain Dew AMP joined its Mountain Dew-flavored transgender cousin. I really enjoyed the cherry AMP known as Overdrive. Not too long before I published this article I wrote a series of reviews of the new trilogy of Mountain Dew flavors featuring strawberry, blue raspberry and wild berry flavors with an infusion of ginseng. Around the same time I discovered new flavors in the canon of AMP offerings: Traction, Elevate, and Relaunch.
AMP Relaunch is orange-flavored AMP and is mighty fine tasting. You ever notice how so many orange flavored drinks focus on the natural sweetness of this particular citrus fruit? Well, Mountain Dew has taken a different approach with AMP Relaunch. You would not call it sour by any means, but there is a definite tarty piquancy to Relaunch that sets it apart. We’re talking miles away from the orange cream soda. All of the AMP are amped up with a certain kind of zest that can’t really be accurate defined; it is what separates the original AMP from a bottle of Mountain Dew. (Or can, to be more precise.) For some reason, this tangy kick is even more noticeable in the orange-flavored Relaunch.
Unfortunately, AMP Elevate is an energy drink that even those like me who don’t get the burst will want to avoid. There is a bitter aftertaste that, while nowhere close to aspartame, is still quite unpleasant. As if that the aftertaste wasn’t band enough, the actual foretaste of AMP Elevate is not particularly pleasant either. Like the new Mountain Dew flavored with wild berry, AMP Elevate proves that less specific your flavoring is, the less impressive the taste. Stay away from AMP Elevate.
The king of the Mountain Dew’s AMP energy drink will become Traction. This grape flavored AMP is nothing less than spectacular, easily replacing the cherry flavored Overdrive as my go-to energy drink. (If only the Traction could actually make me feel like running a marathon backwards!) This is a big announcement for me; I LOVE cherry flavored stuff. Cherry Coke. Mountain Dew Code Red. The list goes on. Well, for a little bit anyway. But this grape AMP called Traction would be a daily morning routine if I were able to find it in more than one Tom Thumb store around here.
Now if only Mountain Dew would releases a banana-flavored AMP.
