I was only vaguely aware that Mountain Dew had certain white-trash associations — in my circle it was always more of a late-night coding or gaming beverage — but the retro Throwback drink can sheds some light on the Dew’s hillbilly roots:
1940s
Ally and Barney Hartman ran a bottling plant in Knoxville, Tennessee. They began bottling a lithiated-lemon drink as a personal mixer for hard-liquor. The flavor was similar to “lemon-lime soda.” They jokingly called the drink “Mountain Dew” after Tennessee Mountain Moonshine.
1946
The Hartman brothers took their prototype to a beverage convention in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The two met Charlie Gordon of Tri-City Beverage at this convention.
1948
Ally and Barney filed for a received a trademark. The 1946 label was redrawn by John Brichett. The drink was still the original lemon-lime flavor.
1951
The first ACL Mountain Dew bottle was ordered. The bottle was green glass with white paint showing a hillbilly shooting at a revenuer running from an outhouse.
Ya-hooo!
I’m a huge Mountain Dew fan, but it’s not available in Israel! I’m also partial to this version of the Mountain Dew song.