Flamin' Hot was a Mountain Dew flavor first released as an online DEW Store exclusive flavor in August 2021. Months later, it was released in stores in April 2022 for a limited time.
Description[]
Flamin' Hot was a Heat and Citrus Mountain Dew flavor that "combines the sweet, citrus flavor of Dew with the spicy, kicked up flavor of Flamin' Hot," making it a sweet-and-spicy citrus flavor. The flavor has often described as a spicy version of Mountain Dew or LiveWire and as having a "unique" flavor compared to other spicy PepsiCo products such as Cheetos.
Contrary to popular belief, Flamin' Hot is not flavored after Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Tagline[]
Its tagline was "DEW with a Blast of Heat and Citrus Flavor with Other Natural Flavors."
History[]
2021 DEW Store release[]
The drink was first leaked on June 25th, 2021 by Twitter user @KaelanRamos, who received it as part of PepsiCo's product testing for the flavor. The flyer posted claimed the drink would be available in 12 oz. 12-pack cans and 20 oz. Sidekick bottles, along with single 16 oz. cans.
The drink was first officially teased by Mountain Dew on August 18th, before being officially announced on the 25th. The drink would be a DEW Store exclusive, like Cake-Smash, and would release on August 31st. The DEW Store page for Flamin' Hot was made available in advance, so that users could check if the DEW Store would ship to their ZIP code.
The drink was released around 12pm EST on August 31st. The release was laden with persistent technical issues on the website, preventing many from completing their orders. The drink officially sold out at 12:57pm EST, less than an hour after its release. The webpage was later removed from the website entirely, making the possibility of a restock uncertain.
2022 Limited Time retail release[]
In Mid-August 2021, a month after it was sold out online, a post was made on the r/mountaindew subreddit showcasing Pepsi's mid-2022 release calendar, featuring a listing for Flamin' Hot in 12 oz. 12-pack and 20 oz. Sidekick bottles, slated for a release around mid-April 2022. The post was later removed by Reddit in response to a copyright claim, presumably by PepsiCo. This rumor would be reaffirmed by a Pepsi employee on the subreddit in November 2021.
In late November 2021, an eBay listing surfaced for pre-release 20 oz. bottles of Flamin' Hot. The design was slightly altered to emphasize the presence of citrus flavor, which is supposed to be accompanied by a slight "lime flavor kick"[1] distinguishing it from its 2021 predecessor.
Flamin' Hot officially started rolling out in stores nationwide in early April 2022, remaining on shelves for eight weeks until around the beginning of May (coinciding with the release of Circle K exclusive Purple Thunder in bottles).
"The Official Drink of Hell"[]
On April 30th, 2022, Mountain Dew held a free event in Hell, Michigan to promote the re-release of Flamin' Hot, dubbed "the official drink of Hell." The event featured mini-golf, Flamin' Hot-themed snacks and ice cream, appearances by DJ Pauly D and Action Bronson, and free giveaways.[2]
Additionally, there were five new official Mountain Dew cocktails at this event. These included Mountain Dew Flamin' Hot Bloody Mary, Margarita Picante, The Blazin' Bahama, Red Hot Rum, and Mountain Dew Flamin' Hot Vodka.[3]
Trivia[]
- Flamin' Hot was in stock for less than an hour, making this the shortest limited-time-offer Mountain Dew flavor released. Cake-Smash, the previous DEW Store exclusive flavor, was available for approximately three hours.
- There was a misunderstanding that Flamin' Hot would be a Dollar General exclusive, due to a poster showing Maui Burst and Flamin' Hot saying “Only at DG.” The rumor was swiftly proven false, as the quote on the poster was only referring to Maui Burst being a Dollar General exclusive.
References[]
- ↑ https://twitter.com/MountainDew/status/1516477380256321538?s=20&t=7TEZzb84oc7x6-kTMnRYxQ
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mtn-dew-flamin-hot-becomes-the-official-drink-of-hell-and-you-can-join-them-therein-hell-michigan-that-is-as-new-product-releases-nationwide-301530170.html
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/utadkn/forgot_to_post_this_earlier_but_there_were_5_new/