"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
When I was a little kid, I was never a slave to advertising. Well, except for maybe that time when I found out about 10, 2 and 4 on the Dr Pepper bottle and would open a bottle at 10, drink a little, then put it back in the refrigerator to drink again at 2 and 4.
That didn't last long, though, because flat Dr Pepper isn't good Dr Pepper. :-)
Dr. Pepper's one of my favorites, too. When my brother and I were kids, we'd spend a couple of weeks every summer with Grandma Paco on her farm. We loved actually doing chores, so, after a morning picking green beans or corn, we'd come into the kitchen, all hot and tired, and head straight for the kitchen because, without fail, Grandma always had several bottles of ice-cold Dr. Pepper on hand - and boy, did we guzzle those things. Her fridge was on such a cold setting, that the Dr. Pepper sometimes had a light icy froth inside the neck of the bottle.
I once said that, if I could, there's a little valley in the White Tank Mountains that I'd pick as my personal slice of heaven. In retrospect, I believe Grandma Paco's home edges out the desert; her little farm house, the sun almost always shining, sitting in the shade of the pecan trees shucking corn in the late afternoon - and of course, Grandma Paco, herself, a hardworking, yet playful, saint who was the center of the family universe.
Because nothing says "Class" like racing touts and Dr. Pepper!
Dr. Pepper used to suggest drinking it hot in their ads. Which of course meant flat as well, and that never did appeal to me in the least. Anyway, my soft drink of choice has always been root beer.
I never quite understood the reasoning behind hot Dr. Pepper, either, unless the result was something that tasted vaguely like tea.
Root beer is another favorite. I'm not much of a connoisseur, so I drank and enjoyed practically any kind. What's your favorite brand?
One thing I've noticed about Dr. Pepper is that the taste has changed somewhat over the years, and the company admits that they've altered the recipe from time to time. When I was young, I could have sworn it had traces of sassafras, although I don't sense that flavor, now, and Dr. Pepper says that the drink doesn't include sassafras (it doesn't include it now, in any event; I wonder about 60 years ago).
The best root beer was what the local A&W drive-in served in the big, heavy frosted mugs when I was a kid just barely big enough to handle one. Unfortunately, it went out of business before I got my driver's license and could go there on my own. The modern A&W root beer in cans tastes a little like that, but it isn't the same. Maybe it was the mug!
I started drinking Doctor Pepper in the last decade or so, hence I can't comment on the taste changing over 60 years. But I wouldn't be surprised if the formula did change. Sure as heck, if something is working well, someone will come along and "fix" it.
Dr. Pepper got its start in Waco, so it was everywhere in Texas, and every old gas station had a big metal cooler outside the screen door full of Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola, Nehi, and some kind or orange soda. Sometimes there was root beer, but none of us had ever heard of A&W. We used root beer to make root beer floats, and my grandmother always had root beer in the fridge because she said it was made from sassafras, so it was "healthy". I don't know if that's true, but she also said my grandfather was addicted to Coca Cola, and that may be true (he died right after I was born). When he started drinking it as a young man, it still had cocaine in it.
My preferred beverage, as a matter of fact!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little kid, I was never a slave to advertising. Well, except for maybe that time when I found out about 10, 2 and 4 on the Dr Pepper bottle and would open a bottle at 10, drink a little, then put it back in the refrigerator to drink again at 2 and 4.
ReplyDeleteThat didn't last long, though, because flat Dr Pepper isn't good Dr Pepper. :-)
Use the flat stuff to make ribs. Would probably work on chicken too.
DeleteDr. Pepper's one of my favorites, too. When my brother and I were kids, we'd spend a couple of weeks every summer with Grandma Paco on her farm. We loved actually doing chores, so, after a morning picking green beans or corn, we'd come into the kitchen, all hot and tired, and head straight for the kitchen because, without fail, Grandma always had several bottles of ice-cold Dr. Pepper on hand - and boy, did we guzzle those things. Her fridge was on such a cold setting, that the Dr. Pepper sometimes had a light icy froth inside the neck of the bottle.
ReplyDeleteI once said that, if I could, there's a little valley in the White Tank Mountains that I'd pick as my personal slice of heaven. In retrospect, I believe Grandma Paco's home edges out the desert; her little farm house, the sun almost always shining, sitting in the shade of the pecan trees shucking corn in the late afternoon - and of course, Grandma Paco, herself, a hardworking, yet playful, saint who was the center of the family universe.
Because nothing says "Class" like racing touts and Dr. Pepper!
ReplyDeleteDr. Pepper used to suggest drinking it hot in their ads. Which of course meant flat as well, and that never did appeal to me in the least. Anyway, my soft drink of choice has always been root beer.
I never quite understood the reasoning behind hot Dr. Pepper, either, unless the result was something that tasted vaguely like tea.
ReplyDeleteRoot beer is another favorite. I'm not much of a connoisseur, so I drank and enjoyed practically any kind. What's your favorite brand?
One thing I've noticed about Dr. Pepper is that the taste has changed somewhat over the years, and the company admits that they've altered the recipe from time to time. When I was young, I could have sworn it had traces of sassafras, although I don't sense that flavor, now, and Dr. Pepper says that the drink doesn't include sassafras (it doesn't include it now, in any event; I wonder about 60 years ago).
The best root beer was what the local A&W drive-in served in the big, heavy frosted mugs when I was a kid just barely big enough to handle one. Unfortunately, it went out of business before I got my driver's license and could go there on my own. The modern A&W root beer in cans tastes a little like that, but it isn't the same. Maybe it was the mug!
ReplyDeleteI started drinking Doctor Pepper in the last decade or so, hence I can't comment on the taste changing over 60 years. But I wouldn't be surprised if the formula did change. Sure as heck, if something is working well, someone will come along and "fix" it.
ReplyDeleteDr. Pepper got its start in Waco, so it was everywhere in Texas, and every old gas station had a big metal cooler outside the screen door full of Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola, Nehi, and some kind or orange soda. Sometimes there was root beer, but none of us had ever heard of A&W. We used root beer to make root beer floats, and my grandmother always had root beer in the fridge because she said it was made from sassafras, so it was "healthy". I don't know if that's true, but she also said my grandfather was addicted to Coca Cola, and that may be true (he died right after I was born). When he started drinking it as a young man, it still had cocaine in it.
ReplyDelete