I'm a Pepper

A few weeks ago, I was visiting my little sister at a bowling tournament in Springfield, MO. I ended up leaving pretty late that night, so I stopped at the gas station for a little caffeine and saw this sitting in one of the aisle displays:

Bottle: Dr Pepper "Made With Real Sugar"
(Source: AP)

What?? Real sugar you say? Now, anyone who knows me knows I love DP. I’m not a big soda drinker, but when I indulge, it’s almost always with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. And any DP fan knows the absolute best version is what’s called the Dublin Dr. Pepper, which is made in Dublin, TX, at the oldest DP bottling plant and uses real cane sugar. It’s not easy to find, even in Texas, and outside of Texas, it’s nearly impossible (save online). So when I saw this bottle, I immediately got excited. I bought a few bottles and only upon bringing them home did I read the label more closely: “Made with real sugar.” The Dublin DPs have a distinct “Made with real cane sugar” label, so I knew something was fishy. Apparently, I was on the tail end of a summer-long campaign to celebrate the 125^th anniversary of Dr. Pepper. Now, while this stuff might not be the Dublin deliciousness, it’s pretty darn good and noticeably better than regular DP, which is, of course, made with high fructose corn syrup. So, if you’re a DP fan and happen to notice a few lingering bottles of this stuff in your gas station, I highly recommend snatching them — I wish I’d grabbed more! And next time you’re in Texas, look for the bottle (often glass) made with real cane sugar. Yum!