Dr Pepper and peanuts

A friend brought up an interesting point the other day. She said, “Why do Texans refer to all soft drinks as Coke?” And while it’s true, I don’t have an answer for that. (Do you?) But what’s even more puzzling is that Coke isn’t even a Texan product—it’s from Georgia. Our local soda is Dr Pepper, born in Waco in 1885 one year before Coca-Cola was conceived.

Dr Pepper turns 117 years old this week, and the town of Dublin, Texas is having a weeklong celebration. If you’re not familiar with Dublin, here’s a bit of background. The bottling plant in Dublin is the oldest Dr Pepper bottler in the world. But what makes it even more special is that it’s one of the few plants that still bottle Dr Pepper with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. And yes, it tastes much, much better. In certain circles, drinking a Dublin Dr Pepper is akin to sipping a magical elixir.

Like all precious things, Dublin Dr Pepper is not widely available. In New York City, you’ll have more luck finding Big Red than Dublin Dr Pepper (though you can order it online). For many years, there were legal restrictions that prevented the Dublin plant from distributing beyond a 44-mile radius of the small town. Those have been lifted now, but it’s still difficult to find the drink. This stuff is sensational, so demand far outstrips supply. Enter bootleggers and a black market. Robb Walsh recently wrote a brilliant article about Dublin Dr Pepper and the people who go to extreme lengths to satisfy their thirst.

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