DR PEPPER IS THE OLDEST MAJOR SOFT DRINK IN AMERICA. Charles Pepper, a Virginia doctor who was the father of a girl Morrison was once in love with. (The period after Dr was dropped in the 1950s.) Dr Pepper was introduced to millions of visitors at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, where it was an instant success.

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas in 1885 by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton. While working at Wade Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store, Alderton noticed how patrons loved the sweet smell of the soda fountain and decided to create a drink that tasted like the familiar smell.

In 1885, one year before the invention of Coca-Cola, a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton began experimenting by mixing different fruit flavors together at The Old Corner Drug Store on Fourth Street and Austin Avenue. The resulting concoction would become the formula for Dr Pepper.

The “misunderstood” aspects of the drink, however, are not mere Madison Avenue jargon. Because of its familiar deep burgundy color, many initiates in Brooklyn, Chicago and Los Angeles expect Dr. Pepper to taste like a cola, which it definitely is not.

What about Dr Pepper? Strangely, Dr Pepper is only owned by Coca Cola in its European and South Korean markets. Everywhere else it is sold is managed by the Keurig Dr Pepper company. This company also owns the well known soft drink 7up.

What it pretty much comes down to is the flavor components. Coke is a cola with a very distinct cola flavor. Dr. Pepper is comprised of 23 different flavor components including cola, cherry, licorice, apricot, juniper, lemon, nutmeg, clove, and a bunch more.

While Dr. Pepper was, in fact, a real doctor, and the drink itself was crafted in a pharmacy, the carbonated beverage has no medicinal background or benefits (no matter what early advertisements might tell you about “aiding in digestion” and “restoring vitality”).

However, Dr Pepper superfans have done their best to crack the code, and according to Mashed, the best approximation of the flavors is amaretto, almond, blackberry, black licorice, caramel, carrot, clove, cherry, cola, ginger, juniper, lemon, molasses, nutmeg, orange, prune, plum, pepper, root beer, rum, raspberry, ...

While Dr. Pepper was, in fact, a real doctor, and the drink itself was crafted in a pharmacy, the carbonated beverage has no medicinal background or benefits (no matter what early advertisements might tell you about “aiding in digestion” and “restoring vitality”).

According to Dr Pepper itself, among others, Dr Pepper is the oldest major soft drink brand in the U.S. While Texas' signature soft drink was first sold in 1885 at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, the brand was introduced to the world at large at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, according to Dr Pepper.

Dr Pepper drew scorn for its handling of a college tuition giveaway during halftime of the SEC championship game. The brand announced one player as the winner based on an obscure rule after they tied twice. The company eventually decided to give both contestants the $100,000 prize money.

The taste of Dr Pepper is really hard to describe, simply because there's nothing quite like it. Some say it has a hint of cherry or a trace of liquorice, but the reason it's so hard to describe what Dr Pepper tastes like, is probably down to the fact that there's a combination of 23 different flavours!