Dublin Dr Pepper is bottled with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar using the original Dr Pepper formula (photo by Kenn Stearns)

The formula for Dr Pepper was created in Waco, Texas by Charles Alderton in 1885, but it took four decades before the first Dr Pepper franchise agreement was issued to Sam Houston Prim. The franchise area chosen for Dublin Bottling Works was a 44-mile radius surrounding Dublin, Texas, a small community about 90 miles northwest of Waco. The formula for making Dr Pepper included real sugar.

Due to price supports and import quotas for sugar, most soft drinks started using high fructose corn syrup in the late ’70s. But in the ’80s, Dublin Bottling Works plant owner W.P. “Bill” Kloster refused to convert the oldest bottling plant in the world and continued to use sugar. The plant manager also preferred to use six-and-a-half-ounce glass bottles. Today fans of Dublin Dr Pepper swear it has a more authentic taste that is better than Dr Pepper produced elsewhere. I believe them.