23 flavors of DR. Pepper...

I blame Scott for my recent addiction of Dr. Pepper.

A little history-

The drink originated no later than December of 1885, in Waco, Texas, and introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

It was created by a German pharmacist named Charles Alderton, working with the proprietor of Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store & soda fountain, Wade Morrison. Visiting patrons at Morrison's soda fountain would order what was then called a "Waco."

It is believed by some that the drink was named after Morrison's former employer in Texas, but this has been disputed by the Dr Pepper company itself, which claims Morrison once lived in Wythe County, Virginia near a Dr. Charles T. Pepper, and may have been romantically involved with Pepper's daughter.

The name is also at times referred to as a play on words- "pep", to pep one up via the drink's magical ability.

Dr Pepper is not marketed as a cola per se, like competiors RC, Coca-cola, and Pepsi.

Dr Pepper's flavor was supposedly derived from a mixture of soda fountain flavors popular when the drink was first mixed. A partial list of these flavors can be seen at the Texas bottling plant, though the full list is a closely guarded secret.

The original formula, which can still be ordered in certain locations and at dublindrpepper.com , is made with cane sugar, and is rumored to be highly superior to the mass-market version using corn syrup.

It is believed cherry and vanilla are part of the ingredients. Some suggest Guarana.

Dr Pepper claims it does not, and never has, contained prune juice. Many fans believe otherwise. and some even swear that, many moons ago, when the drink was still fairly unknown, the bottle contained prune juice on the label.

Fans of the drink also claim that bottled Dr. Pepper is far superior to canned Dr. Pepper.

Other suggestions?

Including the above- Amaretto, apricot, allspice, almond, burdock root, burnt rum, black licorice, bitters (such as Angostura brand), blackberry, birch bark, clove, coriander, carrot, caramel, cola nuts, caramel, chocolate, cherry, cardomom, dandilion root, dog grass, fennel, grapefruit, ginger, guaiacum chips, grape, guarana, hops, juniper, nutmeg, lemon, lime, mace, molasses, orange, peach, prune (although denied), plum, prickly ash bark, pepper, pipsissewa, raspberry, rhubarb, rosemary, root beer, sassafras root, spikenard, sarspirilla root, spicewood, star anise, tomato, vanilla, wintergreen, wild cherry bark, and yellow dock.

Anyone think anything else?

Oh, and if you're really a fanatic, here's a fun website to poke around...

http://www.freenewyork.net/dpfaq.html

This post has been edited by thedelihaus on May 02, 2007 12:51 pm

your welcome.

be careful, it can truly be addictive. i was hooked for a solid 10 years or so, 3 cans a day was the norm until the 20oz bottles came out, then it became a 2-a-day habit. i finally kicked it for good last year, but not without some serious effort. i can still enjoy an occasional DP with bitters and lime, maybe once every 2 or 3 months.

the bottle -vs- can debate is moot unless you get the bottled stuff from the Waco plant. the difference is that the Waco plant is the only one that used only pure cane sugar, while all the others use corn syrup.