Subject Dr Pepper and other disappointments
Evaluation I don’t know how many people are old enough to remember the good old days. Well I am. As a kid I used to live on soft drinks, especially Dr. Pepper or as my friend Paul would call it, ’’Pepper Juice.’’ Back then (Early 1970’s) Dr. Pepper had a very strong distinct black cherry soda flavor. But there was something different about it that made it Dr. Pepper, arguably the most unique soft drink of it’s time. Well, something happened over the years, not just to Dr. Pepper but to most of the old time soft drinks, and things just haven’t been the same since. The new Dr. Pepper has a much watered down taste in comparison to the old days. It is more seltzer than flavor. Yeah, a hint of the old D.P. is still there but if you go back to the 70’s like I do then I am sure you will agree with me that it just isn’t the same.
Dr. Pepper isn’t the only victim however. I remember the old days of coca cola going back to the early 1960’s when I had my tonsils out and had my first coke. It had a taste that I still remember. The cola flavor was very strong and not too seltzery. I fell in love with coke at that moment. Now granted at that time I think they were actually still making it with coke syrup which of course is a drug but I’m not sure. The point is, the new coke which is supposed to be like the old coke is in comparison bitter and way too seltzery. It is nothing like what I remembered. I can go on and on with other soft drinks changes over the last 30 years but I’m sure you got the message. But what’s coming is what many of you may not know.
The Reason From friends I have in the industry and from doing a lot of research on this subject the reason for the watered down tastes on most soft drinks in comparison to the old days is simply that, watered down. And why are they watered down? Cost, plain and simple. Soft drink companies couldn’t afford to put the same amount of flavoring into their product as they did in the old days and still sell them at the same price. So to compensate they started adding other ingredients and artificial flavors and cut down on the main stuff. In many cases this almost completely changed the flavor of the drink, Dr. Pepper being a perfect example of this. If you had a can from 1970 and a can from today you would see they taste almost nothing alike. Sad, but true. And even with the cost cutting measures a can of Dr. Pepper that you got for 25 cents back in 1970 now costs 75 cents here in the states, and it isn’t nearly as good. And the disappointments go all the way down the list including such classics as Coke, Pepsi, A&W Root Beer, Fanta Orange, Fanta Grape and even Radar’s favorite, Grape Nehi, though that is still pretty good even today.
Solution There is none. If you want the same great tastes in your soft drinks as years ago you will have to pay $2 a can for each one, and that’s if the formulas even still exist. As a result I have all but stopped drinking soft drinks. The bad taste is just too much for me to stand. Now those of you who don’t remember the old days probably think today’s soft drinks are good, and I guess maybe not having anything to compare them too they are. But this consumer can’t get the memory of the good old days out of his mind and therefor has given up most soft drinks for good. The only ones that are at least close to their ancestors are Pepsi, Grape Nehi, Mountain Dew, Seven Up, Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Sprite. And even they aren’t quite up to the originals, especially Mountain Dew which used to be one of my favorites.
Bottom Line If you’re young and don’t remember the good old days of Dr. Pepper then you might enjoy todays Dr. Pepper as it isn’t dreadful. But it just makes me sad to know what you missed so many years ago.