Dr Pepper is hands-down the best soda on the market
I would say that I am a little bit of a self-proclaimed drink-girly, as I can often be seen with my rotation of two to three drinks sipping between the caffeinated, the hydrating, and (if I’m feeling wild) a sugary treat. Often, this drink can be seen as the biggest indicator of my cravings— lemonade to refresh, milkshakes for decadence, and Coca-Cola for the sake of bubbles. I have discovered over the past year or so, however, that there is a solution for all these cravings at the same time, my friend Dr Pepper.
Dr Pepper entered the markets in 1885, distributed by the Keurig Dr Pepper brand, known as one of the oldest soft drink manufacturers. It was created in Waco, Texas in a drugstore by one of its pharmacists, Charles Alderton, and has since become a global hit selling 632 million 192-ounce cases in 2022. It is a one-of-a-kind soda, famously known to be comprised of 23 different fruit syrup flavors. Something you may not know about the reason for this is that Alderton had a deep love for his job site’s smell and wished to replicate the smell in a taste. Thus, Dr Pepper was conceptualized, taste-tested, and sent to shelves around a year before the soda company conglomerate Coca-Cola was founded.
Beyond this vintage novelty of the soft drink or my personal, unabiding desire to “stick it to the man” (the man being Coca-Cola), there are a litany of reasons why Dr Pepper stands out in my mental “soda-bracket.” There is no other soda, or soda brand on the market that can quite replicate Dr Pepper’s magic, and that’s what is so special about the drink. For the average consumer, most popular soda types have a variety of dupes such as Coke with Pepsi, Sprite with Sierra Mist, or Fanta with Crush. This mix-and-match potential does not have the same ease when it is applied to Dr Pepper. Sure, the average consumer might argue that the alternative to Dr Pepper is Mr. Pibb— but those who have had the opportunity to try both sodas I feel would, by and large, agree that Mr. Pibb is more comparable to a Cherry Coke than a Dr Pepper. There is something about the specific Dr Pepper blend that other companies cannot seem to replicate, resulting in dupes that are notably sweeter or fruitier.
Secondly, I would argue that Dr Pepper takes the best parts of other popular soda brands and creates the best of all worlds. Any complaint that I may have with another soft drink does not apply to Dr Pepper. It is not as saccharine as root beer, the last few sips aren’t as bitter as a cola, I don’t have to be in the mood for something fruity to enjoy it like with an orange soda, and the overall flavor profile isn’t as sharp or tart as a lemon-lime soda. Dr Pepper lives in a happy middle ground where all the unique aspects of different soft drinks are combined to create something superior to any sole element.
The next time you go to your local SUNY Geneseo vending machine and see that it offers this majestic flavor profile, I hope you will take a moment to think back on this article and treat yourself to the superior soda experience that is Dr Pepper.
Thumbnail Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons