#weirdsodaforlife

Hi there, and welcome back to #weirdsodaforlife! This week, we are STILL celebrating the holidays! Uh no, not Thanksgiving. No, not Christmas either. That’s right, we’re celebrating Halloween! Why? Because I finally got my hands on both the Trolli Mountain Dew gummy worms AND the Mountain Dew Trolli gummy worm soda. It’s a two-for one special on the channel today!

First, let’s tackle the big question: why did it take me so long to get this Halloween Mountain Dew? Honestly, it just wasn’t showing up anywhere. I found the Trolli candy right away at Walgreens, no trouble at all. But the soda? Totally MIA, even though it officially launched on August 25th, 2025. Turns out, it was a Walmart exclusive for about three weeks before rolling out nationwide in September. Meanwhile, the gummies hit shelves everywhere with no exclusivity. Go figure. Thanks, gummy worm communists, I guess?

A little background before we dive in. Every October, Mountain Dew usually drops a VooDEW flavor: a candy-inspired mystery soda where part of the fun is guessing what it tastes like. Past flavors included Starburst and Airheads, and we’ve tried the last three on this channel! But this year, VooDEW was a no-show. (Yeah, I felt betrayed too.) Instead, Mountain Dew teamed up directly with Trolli for a full collaboration, no guessing required. The cool part? They went two-way with it, just like that Coca-Cola and Oreos collab from last year. Honestly, I’m all for more crossover madness between snacks and sodas.

Now, let’s talk about looks. These Trolli Mountain Dew gummies are… something else. A little unhinged, honestly. Some even have what I can only describe as eyes, which is slightly unsettling as I prefer my snacks not to stare back while I’m eating them. Anyway, they come in three flavors: Original Citrus, Original Citrus Cherry, and Original Citrus Blue Raspberry. The cherry is likely a nod to Code Red, and the blue raspberry to Voltage. Of course, I had to try the Original Citrus worm first, which tastes like straight-up Mountain Dew with that classic citrus flavor and a slightly sour, sugary coating. It works well, though I'd personally dial back the sour sprinkle a touch. Next, the Blue Raspberry worm delivers a solid blue raspberry flavor, which I enjoy, but it doesn't quite hit the specific notes of Voltage. Finally, the Cherry worm is the closest match to its soda counterpart; since Code Red is essentially cherry-infused Mountain Dew, this gummy nails the brief. The verdict is that two out of three gummies taste strikingly like their soda equivalents, with the blue raspberry still being tasty even if it's not a perfect match.

Then I tried the soda (which I want to note ONLY came in a zero-sugar flavor)! The smell was strongly candy-like, reminiscent of the aforementioned gummy worms. As for the taste? The cherry flavor comes through clearly, and there’s a hint of lemon underneath. I also think that the zero sugar works well here because full sugar would have been too sweet and would have masked the lemon entirely. In this form, the soda is tart, slightly artificial, but it captures the gummy worm experience. So...while this isn’t my all-time favorite Halloween Dew, it absolutely does what it says on the label. It tastes like a liquid Trolli gummy worm. If that sounds like your thing, you’ll probably enjoy it. To me, this collab feels like a sign of things to come: more soda and candy crossovers, testing the waters with limited editions before going all-in.

Next week, we’re kicking off “Don’t Sleep December” with some Monster energy drinks I tracked down in Tennessee via, you guessed it, Indiana. First one up is Bad Apple! Will this be the best of the bunch? We’ll find out together. Until next time, Drink Weird!