Mountain Dew, long treated like the haggard, unemployed cousin of the big brand sodas, is about to try to go up-market with the test of a pricier, malt-flavored variety of the drink called “Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold.”

Named after the Tennessee town that gave birth to the original Mountain Dew (long before it became “Mtn Dew” and ages before the introduction of colorful varieties like Code Red), a PepsiCo rep tells Reuters that it will “have a malt flavor with kick of lemon-lime.”

Starting in August, it will go on sale in Kroger and 7-Eleven stores throughout the vaguely defined “Midwest.” People in Denver and Charlotte, NC, will also get to sample the stuff.

It’s expected that a can of Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold will retail for about $.50 more than what people pay for good-old Mountain Dew.

Of course, the first people to send us photos and/or initial impressions of this drink will earn our undying love and affection.

Mountain Dew to test malt-flavored version in Midwest [Reuters]

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