Yesterday, in a turn of events involving chocolate, yogurt, and rat treats, I ended up in the UMD Medical Center cafeteria. While looking through the cooler, I happened to notice a new (released just this year, in fact) soda flavor: Dr. Pepper Cherry. This seemed rather interesting, as Dr. Pepper has been advertised as an “authentic blend of 23 flavors,” so what part exactly does the cherry play? Is it a 24th flavor, a replacement for one of the 23, or simply an enhancement of one of the existing 23?
These research questions compelled me to purchase both a cherry and a regular bottle of Dr. Pepper; however, simply sampling them both was a poor way of answering them. After all, it’s pretty easy to see which variation is which when you’re holding both bottles. I took the bottles back to the lab, recruited Mike (the post-doc) as a fellow test subject, and had Shaun (lab tech/manager/wizard) set up a blinded experimental trial. Beverage was added to separate unlabeled cups and a set of two given to both Mike and myself.
Our findings were that the cherry flavor is present as one of the 23 in regular Dr. Pepper, but is heavily augmented in Dr. Pepper Cherry. Overall, we determined that the additional cherry taste detracted from the blended flavor bouquet that is both Dr. Pepper’s signature and the foundation of its appeal. This vociferous forte is amplified by the strong identifying traits of the variant: a strong cherry scent and reddish hue.
The finding that cherry is, in fact, part of the 23 is supported by at least two lists. In contrast to Cherry Coke, where the additional flavor provides an enhancement to the familiar Coke taste, the unique flavor blend that is Dr. Pepper is most enjoyable when the classic proportions remain intact. El Doctor muy bueno.