Mountain Dew's Weird New Holiday Flavor Has Everyone Talking

Are you ready for the Christmas season yet? Yes, ok, we're barely past Labor Day, but in a year when pumpkin spice season begins in August, you have to know that Christmas in September is going to be a thing. And maybe it's not so bad, really... after all, this is a year in which we've all, as that song that's about to be played every hour on the hour through Jan. 1 puts it, "grown a little sadder, grown a little older," so maybe we really do "need a little Christmas, right this very minute, we need a little Christmas now."

Well, who should step up to deliver but that right jolly old elf, the Mountain Dew company? Because, of course, whenever we think Christmas foods, right up there alongside candy canes and eggnog, there's always a sixer of Dew, right? Ok, maybe not, but they are one soft drink company that does seem to be at least trying to capitalize on the holiday season, perhaps inspired by the fact that their can is already Christmas-colored. 

For the past few years, Mountain Dew has come out with something called Merry Mashup that Kotaku describes as "like Christmas in a can," although exactly what about pomegranate flavor says "Christmas," we're not exactly sure (and cranberry is kind of more Thanksgiving-y). Still, the stuff's been super popular, if you can find it. Now, however, rumors are leaking of a new Mountain Dew seasonal flavor — this one they call Snap'd.

First the bad news: according to Country Living, Snap'd isn't likely to be available until next Christmas (that means 2021). All we have to date is some leaked advertising materials that feature the slogan, "Nice to be naughty," along with some artwork featuring gingerbread men that appear to have escaped from some kind of holiday horror movie storming a barrier with weaponized snowballs and candy canes. From this, we gather it's meant to be ginger-flavored, so, like a ginger ale/Mountain Dew mashup? Would that even be good? 

Also, it's unclear where the "naughty" bit comes in, although we can definitely see this drink being spiked with vodka to make a kind of frat-party knockoff Moscow Mule.

Unlike Merry Mashup, which is a cheerful bright red color, Snap'd appears to be a kind of a beige shade, which won't matter in a can but will make for a less festive pour. Since it's already generating media buzz a full year ahead of its anticipated release, however, it probably doesn't much matter what this soda looks, or even tastes, like. Mountain Dew fans, seasonal soda lovers, and novelty-seekers alike will all snap it up. Gives us all something to look forward to, doesn't it? Christmas 2021 — who knows what life will even be like by then? It's good to know that we can Do the Dew in a seasonally-appropriate manner no matter what's going on.