I really like Dr Pepper. It is one of the things that reminded me of my exchange student year, after I returned to Germany. My passion for it is shared by Natalie MacLees, Organizer of the SoCal WordPress Meetup and Co-Organizer of this year’s WordCamp Los Angeles.

At the speaker’s dinner for said WordCamp, Natalie surprised me with a six pack of glass-bottled Dr Pepper, a gift that for the lack of knowledge about the uniqueness of the content, I did not appreciate enough at the time.

Why is it special, you want to know? From Wikipedia: “Dublin Dr Pepper was the popular name for a style of Dr Pepper soft drink made by the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company in Dublin, Texas. Dublin Dr Pepper followed the original recipe, using cane sugar as the sweetener as opposed to newer high-fructose corn syrup. […] On 12 January 2012, it was announced that Dublin Dr. Pepper will no longer be produced, after the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company settled [a] trademark dispute instigated by Dr Pepper Snapple Group”.

Since production of Dublin Dr Pepper stopped, there is no more of the original product in existence. But according to a Dr Pepper Snapple Group press release from January 11, 2012:

[Dr Pepper Snapple Group] will now distribute Dr Pepper sweetened with cane sugar throughout Dublin’s former territory[…]. It’s the same product Dublin sold. […]. The only difference is it will not reference Dublin on the label.

The crate Natalie gave me does have the Dublin reference on the label though, which first threw me off. After a bit more research though, I found out it was produced by the Temple Bottling Company in Temple, TX which is 100 miles southeast of Dublin, TX. The plant supposedly uses the same bottling line, the same formula, and the same Imperial Pure Cane Sugar, letting me hope for the same original taste.

Now that I can better appreciate the gift, let me thank you again Natalie! 🙂