Dublin Dr. Pepper

Preface: I was really excited to find this one. I had heard legends of Dublin Dr. Pepper--a history is here, via Wikipedia. Brief summary: when Dr. Pepper switched to high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener, a few bottling plants refused to make the change. They are allowed to bottle the original recipe (made with cane sugar), but technically can only distribute it in a small area around that particular plant. The Dublin plant is in Texas, so finding it here in north San Diego county was unexpected. I hope I don't unearth some vast sugar-Dr. Pepper smuggling consipracy with this post. In any case, there are those who swear by this stuff. I like normal Dr. Pepper just fine--generally prefer it to other mass-market sodas--so this was an exciting find (as in "making a fool of myself explaining to the person ringing me up and bagging my groceries about the history of Dublin Dr. Pepper with a manic look in my eyes" exciting).

Where and when: purchased 2/28/09 at Major Market, Escondido, CA
Scent: Very little aroma, faint Dr. Peppery smell.
Color: Brown. Maybe slightly gray, but could be the bottle
Taste is Dr. Pepper, but lighter. Sweetness is different—maybe a hint of peach? Almost no aftertaste, as if it was never there. The taste is pretty faint; neither the intense prune or lasting acid of Dr. Pepper. Much more delicate.
I suspect this would be a different experience if the soda was slightly warmer--this one was very cold when consumed. Obviously more research and sampling is needed.