A place to celebrate Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper was once marketed as “The most misunderstood soft drink,” which may be why it needs the Dr Pepper Museum to set the record straight. Thousands of people a year visit the museum in Waco, Texas, in what’s probably the town’s second most historic spot: the 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Co. building at 300 South 5th St. The drink actually originated at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in town, invented by a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton, whose methods were peculiar. According to the museum’s Web site, “He liked the way the drug store smelled. ... He decided to create a drink that tasted like that smell.” No wonder it was misunderstood.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

October 19, 2005 | Permalink