HOUSTON – Welcome to Made in Texas, where we write about products made in the Lone Star State.
Today, we’re featuring the oldest major soft drink brand in America, Dr Pepper.
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The product
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink, popular for its unique blend of 23 flavors.
The inventor
The inventor of this one-of-a-kind Texas creation was a man named Charles Alderton. Alderton worked at a pharmacy in Waco owned by a man named Wade Morrison, according to the Dr Pepper Museum.
The idea behind it
According to the Dr Pepper Museum, Alderton liked the way the drug store smelled and decided to create a drink that tasted like all of the fruit syrup flavor smells mixed together in the air.
The story behind Dr Pepper
In 1885, after numerous experiments, Alderton finally discovered the perfect mixture of fruit syrups and decided to share it with Morrison. The drug store owner liked it and after various tastings, both decided to share it with customers.
The origin of the name “Dr. Pepper” is unclear, although the drink’s website says Morrison named it after the father of a girl he once fell in love with.
The drink became immensely popular and in 1891, Morrison along with Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, formed a new firm named the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became the Dr Pepper Company.
The company moved to Dallas in 1923 and in 1950, the period after the honorific “Dr” was removed.
The brans is now part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group company.