Taco Bell announced an expansion of their drink offerings at its restaurants on Jan. 16. It will soon offer Sangrita Blast, a cherry pomegranate flavor of Mountain Dew, as well as Manzanita Sol, a caffeine-free, apple-flavored soft drink, in addition to a diet version of Baja Blast. (Photo by Axel Everitt)The Titanic is unsinkable. Computers will never be a consumer product. Taco Bell will never offer a zero-calorie version of their popular Mountain Dew Baja Blast soft drink. All these concepts have now been proven wrong.
On Jan. 16, Taco Bell announced an expansion of their drink offerings at its restaurants. In addition to its assortment of Pepsi products, it will soon offer a cherry pomegranate flavor of Mountain Dew called Sangrita Blast as well as Manzanita Sol, a caffeine-free, apple-flavored soft drink.
The most exciting news comes for those who like the idea of enjoying Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a tropical lime flavored beverage exclusive to Taco Bell, without the excess calories. The chain will roll out a diet variation of the extremely popular beverage during the next several months.
For those who choose to indulge at Taco Bell, this is good news. There is even better news if you are one of those people and live within the proximity of ASU.
Since last December, the Taco Bell located at 7153 E. Thomas Road in Scottsdale has been offering all these beverage options, several months before their nationwide rollout. Located just four miles from the Tempe campus, it is one of only several Taco Bell locations in the country that currently carry Diet Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
The flavor of Diet Mountain Dew Baja Blast compares to the original much in the same way the regular and diet versions of Mountain Dew do. While Mountain Dew Baja Blast almost tastes like cotton candy, the diet variant has a less sweet, more bitter flavor. While not an exact replication, it is an ultimately satisfying translation that will delight anyone who enjoys Baja Blast but wants to avoid the carbohydrates.
Mountain Dew Sangrita Blast, a new cherry pomegranate variant of Mountain Dew that will be exclusive to Taco Bell restaurants, tastes almost identical to Sangría Señorial, a Mexican soda distributed by Jarritos in the U.S. It is unclear whether or not Sangrita Blast contains caffeine. Sangría Señorial does not.
Unlike the two new Mountain Dew variants, Manzanita Sol is available at supermarkets and convenience stores. It tastes like a heavily carbonated apple juice.
The Taco Bell at the intersection of Scottsdale and Thomas also provides you a first opportunity to try a new flavor of SoBe Lifewater, named Yumberry Pomegranate, as well as two new Brisk iced tea flavors; Brisk Mango and Brisk Half and Half tea/lemonade.
If the commute is too insurmountable, these flavors will eventually be found at most Taco Bell locations by an undetermined date.
You can reach the reporter at zheltzel@asu.edu
