It is one of the oldest Dr. Pepper bottling plants in the country (established in 1891), and the only one to this day to still use real Imperial Cane Sugar. Though it's distribution area is limited to about a 40 mile radius of Dublin,Texas, it's Dublin Dr. Pepper's are known far and wide.
After taking some pictures in the alley and outside of the building we made our way into Docs old fashioned soda shop and got tickets for the next tour.
Though I am actually a Coke fan (my mother and Kevin both prefer Dr. Pepper) this was my kind of tour. They start you off with a ice cold glass bottle of Dr. Pepper for you to drink as you tour the plant. Despite the fact that it had gone from a 100 degrees to somewhere in the 40's overnight there is little that tastes better than an ice cold soda in a glass bottle.
Unfortunately the boys were NOT interested in any shape or fashion in the Dr. Pepper tour, so I ended up missing most of it trying to get them to be quiet, and behave before giving up and going to get the stroller for containment purposes.
So the only part of the bottling tour of which I heard in it's entirety was the end of the bottling process - specifically that they still make the flavors shown here daily. They still fill glass bottles, and even have a refill program.
It was actually very neat to see the actual equipment used in the bottling even if they weren't actively making anything at the moment.
After the bottling floor tour we were taken into the on site Dr. Pepper museum which housed a variety of Dr. Pepper branded items dating back over then span of the 20th century. We were regaled with interesting stories about the various pieces, but photos were strictly forbidden.
Before leaving we picked up a case of cans as well as glass bottles of Dublin Dr. Peppers to take home with us. We debated having lunch in Doc's Soda Shop as the idea of a float sounded really good, but I just couldn't pass up another opportunity to have some more of the Buckboard's sweet potatoe fries before we had to say goodbye and head back home.
I am actually a Coke fan too but this seems like a cool tour! I would love to see how they make and bottle Dr. Pepper. It’s too bad that the boys did not find it as interesting. Maybe next time when they can understand and appreciate things like that already.
ReplyDeleteRob Feckler