The History:

Dr Pepper has been around for over a century, though it was quietly sold for a couple decades previous, it stormed onto the scene with a flair at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. Born and bred in Waco, Texas by a German pharmacist, Dr Pepper was only sold in a small handful of small-town stores, most notably Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store which was a historic locale in Waco.

The inventor, a man named Charles Alderton, named the drink after a neighbor that he had in Virginia named Dr. Charles Pepper. It’s rumored that Alderton was involved with Pepper’s daughter.

It’s hard to keep track of who owns the rights to Dr Pepper. After hitting on some financial troubles in the 1980’s, the company was briefly associated with Coca-Cola before merging with 7up. After countless legalities, Dr Pepper is again associated with Coca-Cola, and distribution is sometimes associated with PepsiCo.

Dr Pepper has had such an influence in the south that there’s actually a Dr Pepper museum still in Waco. The museum is quite large, and offers tons of merchandise and unique exhibits.

Ever been to the northeast part of the United States. Don’t even bother asking for a Dr Pepper up there – they’re unlikely to even know what it is. Dr Pepper even today has a somewhat limited distribution, though the eastern part of the United States and the south sells it in spades.

Taste Test:

23 flavors is a lot to cram into a can. It’s sweet and has a little bit of that burn that some sodas have. The smell tingles. It’s definitely unique.

Not as refreshing as other sodas. It’s a very distinctive taste, and one that’s been carefully formulated, but it won’t appeal to everybody. Either you like it or you don’t, and it’s probably a little bit of an aquired taste.

Honestly, growing up in Texas, I’ve always been a fan. Objectively though it just doesn’t quite have that mass-appeal taste that other quality sodas have.