The Dublin Dr Pepper plant is actually a franchise and their franchise agreement only allows their distribution range to be 35km radius of Dublin, Texas. Dublin Dr Pepper, being so popular, has been bootlegged outside that range and popped up in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Dr Pepper, the parent company, reasons that they need to protect the other Dr Pepper franchise plants and bottlers who play by the rules. “We owe it to our other bottlers to stop these unauthorised practices.” Which, I guess, makes some sort of sense in a big business corporation mindset.
But also really sucks because Dublin Dr Pepper is delicious.
Dublin Dr Pepper has grown to mythical status over the years, it’s the oldest Dr Pepper plant, having started in 1891 and is the only plant that uses imperial cane sugar in their recipe in America. Think Mexican coke but even rarer outside of Texas. The plant was surprised by the lawsuit (dude, it’s like if your dad sued you) but believes the lawsuit won’t succeed. I mean, if you go beyond what the company requires and everyone loves you, you’d probably have some confidence too. I’m going to find some Dublins today and kick back a few, who’s with me? [Houston Press]
Image: Amit Gupta/Flickr
jughead
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:00 AMthis is kind of the only dr pepper i can get in australia but to be honest, i cant really tell the difference between dublin and regular dr pepper
australia is a little outside texas though…
Luke
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:56 AMHere in Adelaide… i have noticed that some of the major grocery stores are starting to stock Dr Pepper again… although imported from america and the price as about $3.50 for a standard can but sometimes its worth it.
Some places even sell cartons of the stuff.
SofaMan
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:36 PMProblem is, to the Australian palate, the filthy muck tastes like cough medicine.
Paul
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:38 AMWe can get both here in Australia but the Dublin Dr Pepper is much nicer. Cane sugar is also a much healthier option than high fructose corn syrup (high fructose corn syrup is banned for products produced in Australia).
HFCS is cheaper and has a higher shelf life which is why the manufacturers use it.
justin
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:50 AM“Dublin Dr Pepper has grown to mythical status over the years, it’s the oldest Dr Pepper plant…”
For some reason I started thinking Nuka Cola.
Rob
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:06 AMAmericans go nutty for it, the same as they go nutty for Mexican Coca-Cola, as both are made with cane sugar and not corn syrup. Maybe these companies should just buck the powerful corn lobby and use cane sugar across the US? Cane sugar based soda tastes infinitely better than the corn syrup stuff.
lulz
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:22 AMYES. HFCS Dr Pepper is hideous! As is Imperial-Cane Dr Pepper… No, I’m afraid that I much rather drink the English version!
Afira
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:52 AMI’m originally from Texas, and I am addicted to Dr. Pepper, more specifically Dublin Dr. Pepper where it was obtainable from the supermarkets and speciality shops in my area.
I can tell you there is an extreme difference for someone who grew up on it compared to the HFCS style Dr. Pepper. Oddly enough – for one, it tastes less “sweet” and doesn’t leave the sugary after taste common with HFCS style colas. For another, I find the HFCS style has a residue that sticks to everything. Additionally, the HFCS stuff has a stronger bite to the taste. If anyone knows what I’m referencing, its like tasting a Barq’s Root Beer(HFCS) versus A&W Root Beer (Dublin).
I got my last order from USAfoods. Do a web search, they import the Dublin style and frequently have specials on them. 48 cans for 40 bucks, plus 24 dollars shipping was the last special.
olearymo
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11:02 AMOh, this sucks. So they’re suing Dublin Dr Pepper because people LOVE it?
Here’s an idea, stop using high fructose corn crap! Maybe yours would be just as popular!
*Full disclosure, I am a rabid Dr. Pepper fiend and love my Dublin Dr Pepper*
David Shears
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11:41 AMThe cost of switching from HFCS to Imperial sugar would cost Dr Pepper millions of dollars a year. This is because the cost of HFCS is nothing becuse the Corn Industry in the US is heavily subsitised.
HFCS is like tobacco. As much as you want to get rid of it beacuse it is bad for your health. Its far too intertwined into American industry for it to go away…
olearymo
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:08 PMHow does Dublin Dr Pepper afford it then?
Chris
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:39 PMhe didn’t say they couldn’t afford it but it would cost millions and what do big companies want to see more than anything? big returns, so unless the government makes it illegal to use HFCS then it won’t happen anytime soon…
olearymo
Friday, July 1, 2011 at 8:50 AMAh gotcha. Man it’s a real shame isn’t it.
Andrew Charles
Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 10:55 AMHigh fructose corn syrup isn’t banned in Australia, but it’s not available in the quanities used in the US. Australia just doesn’t have the same volume production of maize that the US does, while we do have a large and competitive cane sugar industry. You can even buy corn syrup yourself from the same kind of specialty grocers that stock Dr Pepper. US bottlers generally use corn syrup as a sweetener fro the same reason most hard candy is no longer produced in the US—high tariffs and quotas on cane sugar to protect US sugar cane farmers, esp. in Florida, make products with a high sugar content much more expensive. Thus most surviving manufacturers of hard candy now produce much of their sugar-based candy in Mexico or Canada, while chocolates and sugar-free candy and gum is still produced and exported from the US While cane sugar attracts a high tariff, hard candy from Mexico and Canada which may be 99.99% sugar is tariff free.
That high-fructose corn syrup is bad for you (compared to the sucrose in cane sugar) is largely a myth perpetuated by some people in the health-food industry. Others will tell you that corn syrup is better for you than cane sugar, like rice syrup, malt syrup or concentrated apple juice (once popular in Australia because apple juice consumption was heavily subsidized). The only known health problems though are related to overconsumption and apply to all sources of simple sugars—glucose (aka dextrose), fructose, sucrose, etc. which are all easily metabolised.
DR Pepper is know available from two sources in Australia—UK produced 330 ml cans are available from certain Coles supermarkets with a British Foods section (because it comes from their British foods supplier); US produced 355 ml cans (regular and Cherry) are imported by a number of grey-market importers at a wide range of prices, depending on how much markup they expect and what they paid for shipping—in addition to USA Foods some Asian grocers stock Dr Pepper (similar price to Coles, but the larger can), as does Thomas Dux (at about about a dollar extra).
Franz
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7:53 PMI don’t always drink Dr Pepper, but when I do, It’s Dublin.