Mountain Dew’s new breakfast offering, Kickstart, is part energy drink, part juice, all extreme. We tried it to see if you’ll be kayaking down urban alleyways in no time.
This isn’t the first we’ve mentioned Kickstart, but now I’ve actually tried the A.M. amper. It was spotted while cruising Walmart for chicks, and priced at a measly $1, there was no turning away. “Heck! I’m curious like a cat. I have a couple of friends that call me whiskers.”
My first thought upon that initial sip was that it tasted just like orange soda. It’s nowhere near as good as Orange Crush or Faygo, but it could be somewhere around the Slice range. Kickstart isn’t meant to be an orange soda though, and the aftertaste isn’t nearly as good. The carbonation does make it reminiscent of a mimosa though. The 5% of it that’s juice is there to get it out of the energy drink category, but I suppose you could claim that makes it healthier. Let’s be honest with ourselves though; we’re in it for the caffeine. There are 92mg in the 16-ounce can, which is this equivalent of a 20-ounce normal Dew. It’s just 57% of what you’d find in a Monster, but you’re drinking this with breakfast not to help you stay awake for those next 5 tequila shots.
This probably isn’t for you if you’re an OJ and cantaloupe with cottage cheese kind of guy. It’s a solid option for the occasional soda before noon crowd. And if you drink a mimosa every morning, you need to get your life together. I probably won’t be stocking my fridge with Kickstart, but if I’m up and out early during the week I’d have no hesitation grabbing one.