You might think you know everything there is to know about this neon drink, but its rocky history isn’t the only interesting tidbit about Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew soda was born in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee. Long before it became a soda, the term “mountain dew” was a nickname for moonshine. In the 1930s or 40s (sources vary on the year), brothers Barney and Ally Hartman created a mixer to make whiskey taste better. As the story goes, the brothers made their own mixer only when they couldn’t get their favorite mixer (Natural Set-Up) in Tennessee.

The brothers jokingly named the beverage Mountain Dew after the team’s nickname, joking that it tasted just like moonshine when mixed with liquor. They put a Tennessee moonshiner on the logo and marketed the drink as a “zero-proof hillbilly moonshine that will tickle your innards.” The pair expanded distribution outside Knoxville but sales stalled, and the company began to struggle after Barney Hartman tragically died of a heart attack. They eventually found a buyer in Virginia’s Tip Corporation, who modified the drink in 1958 to make it taste more citrus-flavored. The changes worked, and the highly flavorful, super caffeinated beverage became such a big hit that Pepsi bought it in 1964.