We Tried The New Dr Pepper Strawberries And Cream Soda And Longed For The Taste Of Dr Pepper
Oh, the weird and wonderful world of Dr Pepper. Founded in 1885, it is one of the oldest sodas on the market today, yet the taste is nearly impossible to pin down. That is by design, though. Dr Pepper was created by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist and soda fountain enthusiast. His goal was to make a soda that tasted the way his beloved soda fountain smelled. To do this, during breaks from his soda fountain duties, Alderton experimented with mixing the different syrups until he found the perfect concoction, one that included 23 different flavors.
Twenty-three flavors are a lot, but Alderton's creation blended them to near perfection. After selling off his rights to the drink, the fantastic flavor, the new leadership, and the unique taste allowed the concoction to take the world by storm and become the global sensation it is today.
All of this makes us wonder, did Dr Pepper really need two more flavors in its lineup? Well, the company execs sure thought so, as they have now released Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream to the brand.
What is in Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream soda?
As discussed, Dr Pepper already has 23 magnificent yet undefined flavors in it. Other than those syrups found at a soda fountain in the late 19th century, we do not know for sure what the recipe is, as the company keeps it top secret. The internet can speculate, though, as it does. For example, Three Snackateers reports the flavors are almond, amaretto, black licorice, blackberry, caramel, carrot, cherry, clove, cola, ginger, juniper, lemon, molasses, nutmeg, orange, pepper, plum, prune, raspberry, root beer, rum, tomato, and vanilla. Others, such as the fan blog Dr Pepper 2010, speculate on many of the same flavors along with all-spice, birch, cardamom, sarsaparilla, and prickly ash.
This latest addition to the Dr Pepper lineup is Strawberries and Cream. If by cream, the company is referring to cream soda, that means it is heightening the flavor of vanilla and not literally dumping dairy cream into Dr Pepper. And for this, we are grateful.
There are two versions of the Strawberries and Cream flavor available. One is regular, while the other is a zero sugar option, which means you are getting all the taste of the drink without the addition of corn syrup.
How you can get your hands on it
You may be wondering how you can get your hands on this new soda. Well, we have good news for you. Both varieties of Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream were released in February 2023. Despite the pink appearance and perhaps even that fruit that has an overlap with the Valentine's Day holiday, Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream soda is joining the Dr Pepper lineup as a permanent fixture.
The regular Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream will be available in 12-ounce 12-packs as well as 20-ounce bottles. However, the Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream Zero Sugar option will be available only in the 12-ounce 12-packs. So make sure you will enjoy it before investing in a dozen cans of this new addition to the Dr Pepper product range.
Both versions of the drink are out now and will be available at various Dr Pepper retailers across the country. If you cannot find Strawberries and Cream, do not fret, as Dr Pepper has said it will be releasing a marketing campaign for the drink in spring 2023, which we think may make it easier to find.
How it compares to other Dr Pepper products
We have already discussed the big difference between classic Dr Pepper and Strawberries and Cream Dr Pepper: This new one has even more flavors than the original. If you look at the bottle, you will see that the "23" that appears on the label of the classic version does not appear on the Strawberries and Cream version. This is not the first time Dr Pepper has branched away from its classic blend of 23 flavors.
In addition to diet and caffeine-free options, Dr Pepper also comes in real sugar and zero sugar varieties. Dr Pepper is already available in Cherry and Cherry Vanilla options. The brand also offers a Dr Pepper and Cream Soda mix. The new Strawberries and Cream flavor seems to be the next chapter in pairing a red fruit and cream flavor with the classic Dr Pepper taste. So instead of cherries, the company has used strawberries and blended them with a cream flavor similar if not exactly the same as that used in the Dr Pepper and Cream Soda.
While certainly similar, the Strawberries and Cream flavor brings out a new side to the soda, especially as strawberry is not one of the common flavors thought to be in the original Dr Pepper.
Nutrition
When it comes to the classic Dr Pepper and the Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream, there is virtually no difference in the nutritional value. Each has 150 calories per 12-ounce can, and each has 55 milligrams of sodium and 39 grams of sugar. The ingredients, too, appear to be the same, just listed in a slightly different order. We assume the natural and artificial flavoring differs somewhat in each, but that is not something that is reflected on the label.
There is no Diet Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream, only a Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream Zero Sugar version. Hyper Beast explains that the key difference is that while Diet Dr Pepper uses aspartame to give it sweetness, the Zero Sugar version adds acesulfame potassium along with the aspartame. This is supposed to give the soda a more "syrupy" taste and consistency that is supposed to better resemble the original product. We tried both versions so that we could be the judge of that. Dr Pepper Zero Sugar Strawberries and Cream has 0 calories per 12-ounce can, 60 milligrams of sodium, and 0 grams of sugar.
We appreciate that Dr Pepper premiered the drink in both a sugared and sugar-free version, as that makes it accessible to people who have either a personal preference or medical reason to choose one over the other.
Final verdict: Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream
After trying the Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream, we were a bit dismayed at the lack of that nearly indescribable but quite enjoyable Dr Pepper flavor. The thing that makes Dr Pepper magical and sets it apart from every other soda out there is its unique blend of flavors. That gets utterly lost in Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream. The moment you crack open the can, you are instantly hit by the smell of strawberry candy. The pungent scent verges on excessive but alerts you instantly to what you are about to consume.
The first sip packs a lot of strawberry flavor in it, and that flavor definitely lingers on your tongue. In fact, it tastes like someone dissolved a bunch of Strawberries and Creme Creme Savers hard candy and turned it into a soda. This is not on its surface bad, but it means that Dr Pepper, all 23 flavors of it, is lost beneath that overpowering taste of the strawberries and the cream. Of course, for science, we had to compare it to the other fruit-flavored Dr Pepper: cherry. We found Dr Pepper Cherry tastes more like Dr Pepper, just with added cherry flavoring. This newest soda tastes only of strawberries and cream. The only allusion to the base soda is a faint aftertaste at the very end.
Final verdict: Strawberries and Cream Zero Sugar
The Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream Zero Sugar begins with a similar taste profile to the regular sugar-added version. Like its sugary cousin, upon opening the bottle, you are hit with a strong effervescent strawberry scent. Also, once again, the entire smell is that of strawberry, with no hint of the soda fountain blend that the original Dr Pepper was created to emulate. That is the greatest disappointment of these new versions in general, but it is something that is even more present in the Dr Pepper Zero Sugar version.
Whereas the sugar-added Dr Pepper Strawberries and Cream ends on a note reminiscent of Dr Pepper, the Zero Sugar variety does not. Instead, it has a slight aftertaste common to artificially sweetened drinks. Those who do not mind this aftertaste will likely not care, but it was disappointing to lose what little remaining Dr Pepper flavor might have been left in the mix.
Overall, if you enjoy strawberry and cream candies and are looking for that flavor in drink form, you may enjoy this new soda option. But if you were hoping for a new twist on the classic Dr Pepper taste, you will have to continue your search.