Dr. Pepper
A carbonated soft drink with a distinctive blend of 23 fruit and spice flavors.
Origin
Waco, Texas, created around 1885 by pharmacist Charles Alderton at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store.
History
Charles Alderton, working at a Waco pharmacy, is credited with developing Dr Pepper's distinctive blend around 1885, reportedly inspired by how much he enjoyed the mixed aroma of all the drugstore's fruit syrups together. The U.S. Patent Office recognizes December 1885 as the drink's first serving, making it arguably the oldest major soft drink brand in the United States, predating Coca-Cola. Its unusual, hard-to-pin-down flavor (built from a still-secret blend of 23 flavors) makes it a distinctive whiskey mixer, most notably in the novelty "Dr Pepper" shooter drink built around amaretto and beer, unrelated to the soda itself despite the shared name.
Flavor profile
A complex, hard-to-categorize blend often described as cherry, vanilla, caramel, and a hint of spice.
Tasting notes
Distinctly different from cola, with more spice and a fruitier, less purely sweet character - its complexity makes it a more interesting whiskey mixer than a plain cola for drinkers who want something beyond straightforward sweetness.
Substitutes
- Cola, for a different but comparably dark, sweet soda mixer.
- Root beer, for a different but comparably spiced dark soda substitute.
- Cherry cola, for a closer approximation of Dr Pepper's fruitier notes.