Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

July 25, 2005 11:10 AM

Dr Pepper Clones
posted by the_bone (51 comments total)

Mr. Pibb is a replica of Dr. Pepper but it's a bullshit replica 'cause dude didn't even get his degree. Why'd you have to drop out and start making pop so soon? - Mitch Hedberg
posted by Robot Johnny at 11:27 AM on July 25, 2005

Why do I find this entertaining? Because, you know, I do.
posted by malaprohibita at 11:29 AM on July 25, 2005

Is it just me, or is Cherry Coke similar to Dr. Peppter?
posted by MiG at 11:35 AM on July 25, 2005

"Normal people don't like it, but it's an acquired taste, and I've acquired it."

Heh.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:36 AM on July 25, 2005

What is Dr. Pepper, anyway? Is it a cola? A rootbeer? It's strange flavor has always confounded and disturbed me.
posted by psmealey at 11:40 AM on July 25, 2005

See also Dr. Pepper vs. Mr. Pibb, from four years ago.
posted by Guy Smiley at 11:41 AM on July 25, 2005

Strangely compelling. Now that I think about it, I remember a convience store called "It's a Store" or something like that. They had a whole line of knock-offs called "It's a Cola" and so forth. And, of course, there was "It's a Dr." I have no idea where the place was, though.
posted by obvious at 11:42 AM on July 25, 2005

My roommmate in college had an obsession with dr. pepper clones. After every road trip he'd come back with numerous empty cans which he'd proudly display in our living room. Ahhh.... college.
posted by gambit at 11:47 AM on July 25, 2005

Wow, I never knew there were so many knockoffs! I've seen people carting around "Dr. Thunder" before, but not much else. I didn't realize it was so insanely popular. THe last site in flash was my favorite.
posted by prostyle at 11:50 AM on July 25, 2005

Timely thread, and possibly the only place I might get a serious reply to something bugging the shit out of me: has anyone noticed that the taste of "cherry-vanilla" Dr. Pepper is exactly the same as the regular variety?
posted by docpops at 11:52 AM on July 25, 2005

has anyone noticed that the taste of "cherry-vanilla" Dr. Pepper is exactly the same as the regular variety?

The flavoring is very subtle, but I find that if you let it rest on the back of your tongue briefly, you'll get a faint hint of cherry-vanilla in the aftertaste. A few wafts before drinking, to take in the supple and fruity bouquet, also helps.
posted by Espy Gillespie at 11:57 AM on July 25, 2005

Cherry Coke is similar to Dr. Pepper. Both are colas with fuit flavored syrup added. With Dr. Pepper, though, it's prune and not cherry. Slightly less sweet, and much harder to place.

I agree, docpops, at least on the diet versions of both sodas. I did not, however, do a side-by-side comparison...
posted by FYKshun at 11:58 AM on July 25, 2005

Trader Joe's version, Dr. Joe's tastes better than Dr. Pepper.

WalMart's Dr. Thunder is about the dumbest spin-off name imaginable. But I'm not really surprised by that.
posted by fenriq at 12:01 PM on July 25, 2005

the taste of "cherry-vanilla" Dr. Pepper is exactly the same as the regular variety

No. Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper is an abomination, which we shall henceforth never speak of again.

"Dublin" Dr. Pepper, or the original recipe, which is still sold in glass bottles at the old Dr. Pepper bottling facility in Dublin, Tx, as well as various convenience stores around the state, is sublime, however. Still made with sugar instead of HFCS, it's one of the best sodas ever.

As for clones...I still taste bile every time I think of the time that I sampled a can of some all-organic, vegan Dr. Pepper clone that I purchased at a whole-foods store.
posted by kaseijin at 12:02 PM on July 25, 2005

Isn't it a prune flavor?

Remember that a proper taste test includes full canfulls (impressions from one sip change when you down a whole can) in identical containers. Also remember that when asked to choose the odd man out of two samples of Coke and one of Pepsi (or vice versa), subjects' accuracy is only marginally above pure chance. (source: Blink, Malcolm Gladwell)
posted by NickDouglas at 12:06 PM on July 25, 2005

My favorite was Safeway's Dr. Skipper. As mentioned in the first link, it was originally called "Skipper" (which I thought was close enough [with the double "p"s] to Dr. Pepper to get the point across) but apparently the addition of "Dr." was needed to really drive the point home. That stuff was cheap. 25 cents a can, even cheaper if it was on sale.
posted by piratebowling at 12:10 PM on July 25, 2005

Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper is an abomination, which we shall henceforth never speak of again.

But the girl in the ad is so darn cute!
posted by jonmc at 12:13 PM on July 25, 2005

why no love for Diet Dr. Pepper, who tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than many of these knockoffs. major props to the geeks in the labcoats!
posted by tsarfan at 12:14 PM on July 25, 2005

I always thought Dr. Pepper was passion fruit flavored, but I've never actually tasted a passion fruit.

And great links, the_bones!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:22 PM on July 25, 2005

My bowels!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:27 PM on July 25, 2005

I don't like it enough, so I've never tried a clone version but I had a coworker years ago that drank Dr. Pepper hot, like tea.
fun post!
posted by krix at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2005

ZenMasterThis: I always thought Dr. Pepper was passion fruit flavored, but I've never actually tasted a passion fruit.

Little to no passion fruit hints in Dr. Pepper. Real passion fruit such as made from fresh into a sorbet is delicious. "passion fruit flavor" tends to be a cloying flowery tropical fruit yuck.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2005

Seriously just looking at these sites makes my pancreas hurt.
posted by glenwood at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2005

awesome. i love me some dr. perky, but sadly i think they stopped making it a few years ago. how could you not love a soda called dr. perky?
posted by geeky at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2005

Here's a shout-out for Diet Dr. Pepper, which does taste more like regular than either Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi. Cut me, and I'll probably bleed DDP.

As for the Cherry Vanilla variety, it's almost impossible to taste the cherry and vanilla unless you have some of the regular flavor to compare it to. They certainly went for the subtle with the flavor.

And has anyone else noticed the high pressure warnings on all varieties of Dr. Pepper? It does tend to fizz up more than other brands. I've also noticed Ontario, Canada bottles lack this warning.
posted by tommasz at 12:40 PM on July 25, 2005

kaseijin: "Dublin" Dr. Pepper, or the original recipe, which is still sold in glass bottles at the old Dr. Pepper bottling facility in Dublin, Tx, as well as various convenience stores around the state, is sublime, however.

You can also buy it directly from the bottler online, and it is indeed a superior product.
posted by sysinfo at 12:45 PM on July 25, 2005

http://www.freezepop.net/pepper/pepper99.html
posted by imaswinger at 12:56 PM on July 25, 2005

Here's a shoutout to the pride of the piedmont, CHEERWINE.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:57 PM on July 25, 2005

how could you not love a soda called dr. perky?

Especially if the dr. was a young lady!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:23 PM on July 25, 2005

I am pedantic about few things, and Dr Pepper is one of them. No Period! No Period!
posted by drezdn at 1:35 PM on July 25, 2005

Used to drink Dr. Pepper hot with a slice of lemon. And you know what? It's actually pretty awful.
posted by hal9k at 1:55 PM on July 25, 2005

mad props to the Cheerwine, ROU. You're takin' me back...
posted by Vidiot at 1:55 PM on July 25, 2005

dr.perky

class. i'm sold without sight or taste of this product
posted by Frasermoo at 1:56 PM on July 25, 2005

The Straight Dope says there's nothing prunish about Dr Pepper. So there.

(I see the spell check function is now "ABC [checkmark]" on the toolbar. And it didn't like "prunish", but screw it.)
posted by davy at 2:12 PM on July 25, 2005

Defective Yeti offers a neologism for a generic name for Dr. Pepper or imitation thereof to make all our lives easier.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:21 PM on July 25, 2005

I wonder what it is that drives people to collect the Dr-Knockoffs. I had a professor in college that had a minor hobby of collecting as many Pepper-clones as possible. But he was one of those freaky eccentric profs anyway so everybody kind of expected it of him I guess.
posted by Rhomboid at 2:53 PM on July 25, 2005

Personally I like K-Mart's "Dr. Rocket". I pretend it's shambat blood.
posted by davy at 3:01 PM on July 25, 2005

Personally I like K-Mart's "Dr. Rocket". I pretend it's shambat blood.

Everyone knows that Dr. Rocket is stage-tree juice.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:54 PM on July 25, 2005

Thanks, davy, I was the victim of urban legend. I recant the prune comment. Knew I should'a googled it before I posted.
posted by FYKshun at 4:22 PM on July 25, 2005

Wow. Used to be that only Dr Pepper or Mr Pibb revolted me. Now I can be disgusted by eighty-seventy-millon different Dr Pibb knockoffs.
posted by beelzbubba at 4:42 PM on July 25, 2005

Mr. Pibb can only be found as a fountian drink where I live.

I know all the hot spots to get it tho!!

"Put it near your face! Mr. Pibb!"
posted by Balisong at 4:43 PM on July 25, 2005

Yes, I am one of those elitists who takes pride in knowing it's "Dr Pepper", not Dr. Pepper, and "Cap'n Crunch", not Captain Crunch...

But I like Yeti's suggestion for calling them all "tytolas"... just because I can't think of a better name, and all my attempts at memes spread as well as the Bird Flu underwater...

Still, I am a semi-recovering Cherry Coke addict, I like Dr P and all his Medical Partners better than Wild Cherry Pepsi, and I just wish Vanilla Coke was as subtle in its vanilla-ness as Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (which is way too long a name for a soft drink, and I voted for Villaraigoso...).

And Diet Dr Pepper was less Diet-tasting than any other no-calorie soft drink until the latest Coca-Clone came out: "Coca-Cola Zero". I thought another version of Diet Coke was as much needed as a fourth nipple (the third is, of course, a good conversation starter), but upon tasting a less-than-half-price bottle, I was mightily impressed at its Coca-Cola-ness (did they finally put Coca back into the flavor formula?).

Oh, and why did it come down to me to say: PEPSI BLOOOOOO!
posted by wendell at 4:46 PM on July 25, 2005

An old roommate of mine used to by Dr P. by the case. That's all he ever drank, cans of Dr Pepper. Or beer. He always claimed that it was prune juice, inside, which I believed until that Straight Dope link above.
posted by zardoz at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2005

Diet Skipper is one of the worst drinks I've ever tasted ... and I like Dr Pepper.

What about Faygo's Rock & Rye? I've always thought that fit into the fruity/nutty camp, but then people have told me it's built off cream soda. Dr Pepper + Cream Soda sounds pretty good - maybe that's why I used to love Rock & Rye.
posted by mrgrimm at 5:33 PM on July 25, 2005

Well....

Dr Pepper is indeed usually written sans-period, but does anybody know the story behind that?

It was actually originally supposed to have a period after "Dr," but upon review, the powers that be decided to omit it, feeling that the period would just be understood.

In the font that they chose for the original logo, the period underneath the "r" made it look instead like a dotless "i" and a colon.

When the logo was revamped with a new font, the decision was made to leave the period out again - this time as a nod to the drink's history.

As such, it is actually acceptable to write it either way.

...at least that's what they tell you on the tour of the old bottling plant, anyway.
posted by kaseijin at 5:55 PM on July 25, 2005

Also:

Everybody has their own opinion, but to me, the flavor of Dr Pepper is reminiscent more of almonds than anything else. In fact, it tastes so much like amaretto that you can mix amaretto with Dr Pepper and neither taste it nor smell it -- the perfect ninja drink.
posted by kaseijin at 5:59 PM on July 25, 2005

"Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?"

No thanks, I've got more Moxie than that.
posted by paulsc at 11:13 PM on July 25, 2005

My favorite knock-off brand is Meadow Mist (for Mountain Dew) — as seen, I believe, at A&P supermarkets.
posted by rafter at 11:24 PM on July 25, 2005

One of my friends bought "Dr. Becker" at a health food store. it was incredible... you could open a can, take a sip, put it back in the fridge and it'd still be carbonated days later. And it tasted AWESOME.
posted by trinarian at 1:30 AM on July 26, 2005

"The Straight Dope says there's nothing prunish about Dr Pepper. So there. "

So does Snopes. So there there.
posted by NedKoppel at 6:48 AM on July 26, 2005

I don't know, but I find it suspicious that both the "Ha! Foolish people think Dr Pepper contains prune juice!" links repeat the whole "kept in two vaults so no one person knows the ingredients" thing, which seems somewhat on the fringe of legality to me.

But kudos to the_bone for the Kibo link anyway.
posted by dagnyscott at 9:32 AM on July 26, 2005