Exactly what flavor is Dr. Pepper? Not the Cherry Dr. Pepper which is slightly cherrier than the real Dr. Pepper. But the real Dr. Pepper does have a definite sense of cherriness doesn’t it? One thing is for sure: Dr. Pepper doesn’t really taste all that peppery.
Like most sodas, the actual manufacturing process that gives Dr. Pepper its signature taste (sorry, Mr. Pibb, but you need to go back to school and get your advanced degree) is shrouded in secrecy. In fact, about the only mainstream brand name soda that doesn’t keep its formula a secret is 7-Up. For the record, what you see on the ingredient list is the whole story with 7-Up and no mystery needs unraveling.
Dr. Pepper is another story, however. One thing that seems to have been ascertained with as much authenticity as a real sample of DNA provides real forensic scientists is that you won’t find a single trace of any kind of actual pepper in the soft drink. Any rumors that Dr. Pepper contains anything from black pepper to cayenne pepper is pure myth. Like Oliver Stone’s “JFK.” Dismiss both from your consciousness.
While the secret formula for Coca-Cola may have more of a cultural mystique to it, most people who have downed their share of Dr. Pepper can tell you exactly how many ingredients it takes to come up with the brew. They cannot list all 23 ingredients, of course, nor discuss intelligently how those ingredients are divided and mixed, but the number 23 is as iconic to a Dr. Pepper fan as the Golden Arches are to a Big Mac fanatic.
The mystery of Dr. Pepper is more closely guarded than George W. Bush’s Air National Guard records. Maybe as many as five people know the full list of ingredients. When you hear something like that do you automatically wonder if those five-or maybe it’s only four or maybe it’s as many as ten-people can ever be in the same room together? Surely they are not allowed to fly on the same plane. I wonder.
As for speculation on what those ingredients are, the really big question centers around the distinctive taste of Dr. Pepper. And here is where we reach something of an obstacle. Because while Dr. Pepper definitely has a distinctive flavor, it is a curiously indistinct one. I know people who can’t stand cherry cola, but enjoy Dr. Pepper. To me, there is something distinctively cherry-flavorish about Dr. Pepper. Others get an immediate sensation that is more akin to chocolate or perhaps cherry-chocolate.
The key is right there in front of everybody. It is impossible to put a distinctive stamp on the overriding flavor of Dr. Pepper because, in the words of the company itself, it is a blend of “natural and artificial flavors” that lead to something not found by itself in the natural world. So the next time someone asks you what flavor Dr. Pepper is, you can authentically and authoritatively answer thusly: It is Dr. Pepper flavored.
