Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew Is A Confusing Mix Of Flavors

It might not sound like it, but a dirty soda is most definitely safe for work, even if it does feel a little more indulgent than other sodas. To be considered a dirty soda, a particular drink would need to be combined with cream. Though dirty sodas and soda shops are a big deal in Utah, the combination is a growing trend, intriguing those who may even look to bring these flavors to a dirty soda bar at home or as a replacement for a cocktail bar at your next house party. No matter how you participate in the craze, brands like Pepsi are taking notice with new products like Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew.

As major beverage companies attempt to tap into the increasing demand for dirty sodas, I was lucky enough to get an advanced taste. I used this sample to determine if Mountain Dew's intriguing new flavor is one you must try when it releases in early 2026.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

This version of Mountain Dew is not the first time the brand has tried out a dirty soda. In fact, Taco Bell added a limited-time Dirty MTN Dew Baja Blast Dream Soda to its menu, all part of the chain's new item lineup in 2025. This drink combined Baja Blast and vanilla crème, was available either regular or frozen, and was so enjoyable that it probably deserves a spot on Taco Bell's permanent menu.

Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew isn't a frozen drink like Taco Bell's Dream Freeze. Instead, it's one you'll be able to pick up on a simple grocery store run. Mountain Dew describes the beverage as blending citrus zing with a smoother cream flavor to create its own take on a dirty soda. Since it's called a "cream soda," I imagine the brand is aiming to further introduce its consumer base to the concept of a dirty soda via a flavor profile that's already known. This way, Mountain Dew brings the cream flavor of a dirty soda without having to include an actual milk product.

Nutritionally, Mountain Dew's new Dirty Cream Soda is distinctive from the original flavor. The upcoming offering has 160 calories, 40 grams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, and 44 grams of sugars. In every metric, this is slightly lighter than the original Mountain Dew. It does, however, have the same amount of caffeine at 54 milligrams. The zero-sugar option, predictably, has zeros on the label with the exception of sodium, which sits at 45 milligrams.

As for ingredients, you won't find any cream like other dirty sodas. Instead, you'll find most of the same included ingredients as other Mountain Dew flavors, with a few exceptions. However, the zero-sugar option replaced the high-fructose corn syrup of the regular version with sucralose. Notably, the zero-sugar also adds citrus pectin and acesulfame potassium, two additions that also exist in Mountain Dew's original zero-sugar counterpart.

Mountain Dew's newest addition to its permanent lineup premiered during the NACS Show in Chicago, from October 15 to 17, 2025. While Mountain Dew sent me an advance test of this soda, this new Dew isn't officially coming out until early 2026. From there, you can expect it to be anywhere you might find other flavors of the brand's sodas.

Until this point, any dirty or creamy-based Mountain Dew flavors have been confined to fast food locations and as limited-time offerings. With this release, the brand is tapping into the growing love for dirty soda, even if Dirty Mountain Dew is essentially a cream soda, meaning it has vanilla flavoring rather than actual cream. If you've been to a Swig before, you may know that the chain offers several dirty sodas with Mountain Dew, but they're all created in the soda shop by adding fruity syrups and creamy add-ins.

At the time of writing, the Mountain Dew varieties hanging around grocery and convenience store shelves were largely focused on fruit flavors. Baja Blast, for instance, is a tropical lime offering, Code Red brings all the cherry goodness, Livewire brings a burst of orange, and Voltage kicks it into gear with raspberry. Even other limited offers like the tropical dragon fruit of summer 2025 and the Mango Rush team-up with Little Caesars stayed well within the limits of fruity sweetness, making dirty cream soda a complete departure from Mountain Dew's typical MO.

This upcoming flavor is an attempt to emulate the comforting, soothing, and decadent quality of cream sodas. Most of Mountain Dew's products bring a burst of refreshing caffeinated bliss, cans you'd crack open for that bright bite of fruit, while a cream soda feels closer to something you'd order at a soda shop.

Looking at the mouthful of a name, "Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew," it's a little unclear which part the brand wants customers to focus on. From what I can surmise, the intent is to bring a dirty (creamy) feel to the soda through a more recognizable profile: vanilla flavoring. So, how does it compare to other cream sodas?

Perhaps the biggest difference between Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew and a typical cream soda is that it is caffeinated. In fact, it has just as much caffeine as a regular can of Mountain Dew at 54 milligrams. That's quite unique in the world of cream sodas. IBC, A&W, and Olipop cream sodas are all caffeine-free. It's also not terribly common to see cream sodas combined with citrus flavors, like Mountain Dew did here.

As soon as I poured the drink, I noted that it smelled like cream sodas I've had in the past. This scent translated immediately to a light vanilla flavor, but was quickly met by that classic Mountain Dew aroma. Together, these two (very different) flavors –– which typically span entirely separate sections of the soft drink aisle –– attempt to combine into one taste. While many cream sodas have a color between amber and off-white, this one leaned much more creamy yellow. This color makes sense, since this beverage aims to mimic a dirty soda (soda and cream), all while being a cream soda with a touch of vibrant Mountain Dew.

There's a lingering aftertaste as though the flavors were still trying to sort themselves out. This prolonged sensation almost makes the soda seem artificially flavored and sweetened, even though the label clearly lists high-fructose corn syrup among the first few ingredients.

Notably, the zero-sugar edition of this soda is the exact same color as the regular version. The two sodas also taste pretty similar right away, but as the flavor lingers, I noticed that the vanilla cream presence was less substantial, the citrus tasted less enjoyable, and the drink felt profoundly artificially sweetened. In every measurable way, this was a less tasty sip.

This variety gets its sweetness from both sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame potassium. These sweetening agents and citrus pectin are the only additional ingredients in the zero-sugar product. Thanks to the citrus pectin, a common thickener, the drink has a similar consistency to its fully sugared counterpart.

Just as the color of the drink is nearly identical to the regular option, the cans look very similar. The zero-sugar variety has more black in the graphic, but the difference is minimal. I can easily imagine accidentally pulling this from the shelf when I meant to grab the standard can, or vice versa. You'll definitely want to pay special attention when choosing your item from grocery store aisles.

With as much as I love cream soda and Mountain Dew, I was ready to embrace this combination. After all, most Mountain Dew flavors are typically a win for me. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. Although it didn't taste bad by any stretch of the imagination, I found it to be too odd. I was looking for a seamless mixing of the two flavors, which would result in a bright, creamy soda. Instead, I tasted a drink that felt like it hadn't figured out its identity. It was as though it wasn't finished or fully mixed, like some kind of draft that hadn't been through its final edits.

Cream soda enthusiasts will taste the creaminess they love, but may not enjoy the citrus notes. Mountain Dew fans, on the other hand, will just be thrown by the vanilla. In the end, this isn't going to convert anyone to a cream soda lover, and it's just not going to feel enough like a true dirty soda to satisfy dirty soda fans.