Friday, August 17, 2018

If on a summer's day a traveler....

No, the bottle is not colored in any way.  Do yourself a favor, and don't look for it anywhere.

Just in case you are ever traveling to Texas (which I otherwise recommend heartily.  The people, especially in the small towns, really are friendly), don't take advice from websites:

BIG RED

Waco, Texas, is the birthplace of Dr Pepper but natives know it’s also the motherland of Big Red, a curious ruby drink that has been described as effervescent bubble gum or cotton candy or both. Its origins are rather plain-Jane compared to its flavor and color: Concocted by two guys in a lab in 1937, it was originally dubbed Sun Tang Red Cream Soda. According to Texas Monthly, the name changed to its current catchier one about 20 years later, when the brand’s San Antonio bottling plant president overheard golf caddies referring to the drink as “Big Red.”
Also according to Texas Monthly, if memory serves, Big Red tastes, not like bubble gum or cotton candy, but slightly carbonated hummingbird feeder nectar, and has the same color, too.  Texas Monthly got that one right.  It's probably best consumed with good barbecue (though why, except that you want your sweet but don't want pecan pie or banana pudding, the traditional desserts.  Traditional accompaniments are white bread (only!), potato salad (with mustard, please!) and pinto beans (preferably with jalapeños).  Do yourself a favor, stick to the pecan pie or banana pudding, and a cold beer.  Big Red is a drink best avoided, or left to children below the age of 5 who don't know no better.

In the '60's Dr. Pepper used to advice heating the stuff (on the stove!) with some slices of lemon and orange, as a sort of ersatz wassail.  It was meant to encourage winter consumption of the beverage.  There's a reason you don't heat a carbonated beverage, or even drink it at room temperature.


No, I'm not kidding; and no, despite what you might read on the internet, DO NOT try this at home!  Again, there is a reason Dr. Pepper stopped pushing this idea.

Bad ideas really are bulletproof.  All I can do is warn you.

4 comments:

  1. I tried drinking hot dr pepper once..omfg..arful..but I do so love my dr pepper and never drank big red at all..but loved the big red gum which they don't make any more.

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  2. If I leave my half dunk Dr Pepper in the car, and then come back to it later, it doesn't taste half bad hot. Can't say that about a Coke!

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  3. I'd say there's hot, and then there's heated. Like 140 degrees heated. Still, YMMV.

    I also just saw that one of the sponsors of the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest is: yup, Big Red. Though I still prefer Shiner Bock with my brisket.

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  4. Returning to the point: yeah, warm DP is still better than warm Coke. Such conditions are when I'm reminded that Coke does a good job cleaning corrosion off car battery cables.

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