Should We Bring Hot Dr. Pepper Back?

By the Ami Ciccone

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December 21, 2021

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Food

Passion For Savings

Without a doubt, the '50s and '60s were an interesting time in American culinary history. From meat in gelatin to putting everything you could imagine in a CrockPot, they did it all! While most of those dishes should probably stay in the history books, there's one that many think should be given another shot: Hot Dr. Pepper. That's right! Read on to find out more...

Hot Dr. Pepper – Star Of The ‘60s

Dr. Pepper

What exactly is soda? Well, according to the FDA, soda needs a few things: carbonation and flavoring. So, if sugar (or a sugar substitute in the case of diet drinks), flavors, and carbonated water is soda, then all those things served flat (non-carbonated) must be something else entirely! Well, Hot Dr. Pepper certainly straddles the line between soda and not soda.

Never heard of Hot Dr. Pepper? Well, it comes from the 1960s! You see, when one heats some cool Dr. Pepper, it transforms from a crisp, refreshing soda into something closer to a thick, syrupy sweet tea. Most recipes also call for very, very thin slices of lemon to be added. While it might sound strange to our modern ears, it's really not all that different from something like thick, hot fruit cider. After all, Dr. Pepper features notes of fruit, cinnamon, cloves, and more flavors we associate with fall and winter. Plus, it also gives you a little pep in your step - thanks to the caffeine - something anyone can use after a long day of holiday shopping.

As you can see in the photo above, Dr. Pepper even advertised the hot version of their drink back in the '60s. They even made a commercial, all to keep profits in the black during the Christmas season, when soda sales usually take a nosedive. The drink caught the country by storm and remained popular until the '70s, when it started to fade into obscurity. Well, in most of the country anyway...

Try Making Your Own!

DrPepper/Facebook

Believe it or not, Hot Dr. Pepper has remained a popular wintertime drink in one part of the country: Texas! In case you didn't know, Dr. Pepper was created in Texas, where it ranks as the most popular soda year-round. It even beats out Coke!

With all the old recipes coming back all the time thanks to Tik Tok, we think it's time to bring back Hot Dr. Pepper. It sounds delicious! Want to make a cup for yourself? Well, you can find the recipe on the Dr. Pepper website. They recommend heating the beverage to around 180 degrees in a stovetop saucepan. Then, pour the Hot Dr. Pepper in a glass, over a very thin slice of lemon. As the website says, thin is the key! The lemon can become quite overpowering if cut too thick. Want to make the drink even better? Find a glass-bottled, sugar-sweetened Dr. Pepper (instead of the kind sweetened with corn syrup) - it will taste all the better!