Mountain Dew is Born
Moonshine isn’t the sole legacy of hillbilly beverage innovation; Mountain Dew shares a kindred spirit with its backwoods origins. Created in 1932 by brothers Barney and Ally Hartman, Mountain Dew was initially crafted as a chaser for whiskey. Upon relocating to Knoxville, Tennessee, and finding their favored whiskey mixer unavailable, they whipped up their own version.
This lemon-lime blend, dubbed ‘Mountain Dew’—appalachian slang for moonshine—was an instant local hit. The drink’s destiny shifted when lemonade was added to the recipe, capturing PepsiCo’s attention by 1964. By 1966, in the throes of popular culture’s hillbilly craze, Mountain Dew embraced its roots with Willy the Hillbilly as its mascot, promising a uniquely zesty experience with the slogan, “It’ll tickle your innards.”