That’s a great headline. I should follow it up with “Electric Buggalo”.

And a great follow up to a meal is some Sweet Lightning. See what I did there?

Nothing against them, but KFC isn’t on my frequent fast food stops. When it’s late at night and we’re too tired to cook anything other stops usually come up first. But every so often I’m really in the mood for KFC and no other even similar food will do. Or, as was the case last night, there was a kid in the car who wanted giant chicken tenders and thick cut potato wedges. My dinner was already planned out but I am a fan of trying every new soda I see. Somehow, this new one only at KFC and only available as a fountain drink missed me. The formerly exclusive to Taco Bell beverage, Baja Blast, is arguably their best flavor. One add on to the order later and I was back home to drink… something?

Much like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park I was so obsessed with trying a new Mountain Dew I didn’t think to ask questions. What flavor is it? Hell, what color is it? One taste and I was still just as confused. It’s good. But what is it? I honestly had no idea what this new flavor was meant to be.

Turns out Sweet Lightning is a combination of peach and honey. I have to assume it’s a Southern staple and also a call back to Mountain Dew’s moonshine origins. Being a northerner for the vast majority of my life means I’ve never tasted any version of this flavor combination. It’s good though. Really good. I’m debating on going to get another right now good.

The peach hits right away, once you know what it is, but the honey sneaks in. I don’t think I’ve ever had a soda with honey flavoring in it before and it took me by surprise every time. Honestly, it’s a more complex soda than most of the ones we’re all used to.

My only concern was the color. A peek behind the curtain, my body is allergic/intolerant/something to orange color dye. If I have orange soda, orange Gatorade, etc I’m horribly sick for the rest of the day until it’s out of my system. This soda has a hint of orange but is really somewhere between orange and yellow in color. Thankfully it’s different enough that I felt no ill effects from drinking it. Which is good because I had to give up Mtn Dew Live Wire forever ago for this reason and I didn’t want to lose another tasty drink to “being responsible” and “not getting sick”.

Even if you don’t want KFC for any reason it’s worth it to pull into the drive thru or go inside (depending on your state) and just ordering the drink. I would actually suggest ordering two because the first will be so refreshing it will be gone in 2 minutes. Then lean back and enjoy the second one.