What Is The Actual Flavor Of Mountain Dew's Famous Baja Blast?
It's fruity, forbidden, and fizzy. With one sip of a Mountain Dew Baja Blast, you're inside the rip curl hanging 10. Or, maybe you're actually at the Taco Bell in Brooklyn at three in the morning. Either way, Baja Blast rocks, and it's always there for you. But, while fans love it, one question repeatedly tends to come up: What flavor is the neon teal ambrosia, actually?
Taco Bell's website says Baja Blast is "like drinking a real hurricane," so, not especially helpful. Some sources say Baja Blast is regular Mountain Dew spiked with lime. The official word comes from PepsiCo, which says it is a "cult favorite" with a "legendary Tropical Lime flavor," which would explain the tropical-beach-ideation-producing "Baja" in the drink's title. Per the lore, the flavor was originally designed to complement the chain's Mexican food menu. The "Baja" part is ostensibly named after Baja California, a Mexican state off of Cali's southern coast. (It's also the second-longest peninsula on planet Earth, but we digress.) The Baja title invokes surfer vibes, and the lime part makes it a summery refresher.
Our final answer is that Baja Blast is hint of lime Mtn Dew, which definitely pairs well with T-Bell's zingy cuisine. Still, that descriptor feels reductive. Baja Blast has demonstrated the strength to stand on its own without the prop of recognizable brand ties — and it defies comparison to flavors that humans already recognize.
Baja Blast mania runs deep, even if fans aren't sure exactly what the flavor is
Since first hitting the market 20 years ago, Baja Blast has taken on a life of its own in the hearts (and stomachs) of fans. Other soda flavors like Kickstart, Voltage, and Code Red have made their way into Mtn Dew's oeuvre, but none has enjoyed such a cult-like fanbase as Baja Blast. It entered the adult beverage category in 2015 with Baja Blast Twisted Freezes spiked with alcohol at Taco Bell Cantina outlets (decent stuff too, like 1800 or Don Julio tequilas – essentially a frozen marg). Then in 2022 we saw the release of HARD MTN DEW spiked seltzer with (of course) a Baja Blast flavor. Mountain Dew even turned its Baja Blast soda into a hot sauce last year. This year, Taco Bell released vivid teal pints of Baja Blast gelato nationwide.
The Baja Blast fandom is so insatiable (apparently) that Mtn Dew declared 2022 "the summer of Baja" and rolled out the orange-hued Baja Blast Mango Gem as well as a Baja Blast energy drink (parents of young children, clutch your pearls). The T-Bell exclusive flavor has also been sold by retailers in multiple limited-time stints so fans can enjoy Baja Blast whether or not they're in the mood for fast food. (Next up, maybe we'll find out what flavor blue Gatorade is supposed to be ...)