Did you know that one of the most famous American drinks, besides the soft drink Coca-Cola, was created right here in the state of Tennessee? I am talking about the famous drink, Mountain Dew.
Mountain Dew started over 70 years ago. The drink was first formed and created to be used as a cocktail mixer by two brothers.
The exact date of the first drink of Mountain Dew is somewhat unknown but some historians say that the drink debuted between 1940 and 1948, which was the exact year that the trademark was filed with the United States Patent Office.
Mountain Dew was developed by the Hartman Beverage Co., which was located in Knoxville, Tennessee and run by two brothers Barney and Ally (pronounced “Olly”) Hartman.
The brothers were dealing with the failure of their Orange Crush bottling company in Georgia, after the company failed in 1932.
The brothers then re-located to Knoxville to run a bottling plant for beer and Pepsi Cola.
During this time soft drinks were sold mainly only regionally and because of this issue the brothers could not locate a lemon-lime soda to produce and sell that could be used as a cocktail mixer.
The brothers asked for help from William “Billy” Jones with the Tip Corp. in Marion, Virginia in the creation.
The three men privately bottled a lemon-lime mixer that they jokingly called “Mountain Dew” which is the nickname for moonshine.
Pleased with their creation, the men placed a printed hillbilly label on the bottle of the new drink but it was not sold to the public at first. It was only enjoyed by the men for their own after-hours consumption.
After this the Tri-City Beverage Company in Johnson City caught eye of the new drink and picked it up to sell to the public!
Gracie Latrelle 