I must start off saying that Dr. Pepper is NOT a substitute for Da’Pibb. I am tired of people thinking it is. DP tastes like DS (DogShit). Pibb tastes like liquid loven. I have loved Pibb since I was a wee lad (back in the 80’s). I NEVER see it for sale in ANY grocery stores anymore (Illinois and Colorado anyway). The only place I can get the shit is at McD’s.
The only semi-sutable sub for Pibb I have found is Sam’s Club DR.THUNDER. It is a passable drink. Dr. Wells is ok too, dont see that anywhere now though either.
I must disagree about Dr. Pepper. However, I think it ranks third on the list of “Drinks of That Sort” (just how are drinks like Pibb and Pepper described, anyway?). To me, the list goes:
Mr. Pibb
Dr. Skipper (generic store brand that, for some reason, is a lot better than Pepper)
Dr. Pepper
In my neck of the woods, there’s a restaurant called Daglas that, under their beverages menu, has Mr. Pibb listed, but in letters twice the size as any other, so it looks like this:
Coke
Sprite MR. PIBB
Root Beer
So whenever we order it, we always say, “I’d like a MR. PIBB!!”
When I was a kid, we couldn’t find Mr. PiBB at any of the local grocery stores in L.A. (Well, not at Ralphs, anyway, which is where we always shopped.)
On vactions to Colorado, or even up to Central California. PiBB was everywhere. But not in our local grocery stores. So Mr. PiBB carried this elite, special mystique about it. My dad would get a sixpack of Mr. PiBB while on vacation, and gradually go through it for the rest of the year.
I am embarrassed that any Texans have posted in this thread in support of the nasty, sweetened snuff-juice that is PiBB. It is an affront to your Texas heritage and should be opposed at every opportunity.
It may come as a shock to you, Homebrew, but I’ve frequently found that many of your fellow Texans on the other extreme corner of the state (i.e., El Paso) are actually pro-Pibb and anti-Pepper!
I was down in Big Bend NP this past weekend and on the west side of the park and in the basin, they’ve got Dr. Pepper, but on the east side of the park (Rio Grande Village), I could only get some Pibb Xtra (I was tired and desperate for caffiene) and lemme tell you… it tastes Xtra Shitty.
Lest I be one of the Texans that came out in Support of Pibb, let the record stand that I was simply making a statement.
I prefer Dr Pepper by far.
I am originally from El Paso and this Anti-Pepper stance is news to me. I know MANY MANY west Texans (as one would assume) and I have never ever heard anti-Pepper sentiments.
The strong feelings for Pepper I have found tend to be found in the central and eastern portions of the state.
Typically , there is an indifference to either brand, but that will be found throughout the state. Moreover. people usually buy what’s on sale.
It usually is as follows:
BNB: I will have a DR Pepper with my # 57987.7645 - B, section 232424 combo meal please.
Clerk: we only have Mr Pibb, is that ok?
BNB: oh yeah, sure.
Because Mr Pibb is pretty blech, but to me at least, it trumps Coke and Pepsi.
Out here in SoCal, most Ralph’s supermarkets do carry multipacks of Mr. Pibb. I’m still not convinced of its superiority to the Doctor (I’ve got a bottle of Diet Dr. at my desk right now).
Phlip, the real Wal-Mart specialty knock-off is Green Lightning (knock-off of Mountain Dew). I remember taking 2 cases of it to a party back in PA and seeing it disappear within an hour–mostly mixed with vodka. Dr. Pepper is also good mixed with vodka too…
Bad News Baboon, when was your brother at SRSU? What did he major in? It’s a small school in a very small town and I’ve been here a while; chances are good that we’ve met!
Regarding my slander of El Pasoans, I will begrudgingly admit that my data consist of three (3) entire persons from El Paso that would pine for their Pibb whilst slandering Our Precious Dr. Pepper. I will further note, however, that those are still the only three Texans I’ve met that were pro-Pibb!
And, actually, my pro-Pepper stance is really just because I’m pro-Texana, pro-Ecclesia, pro-Waco. I seldom drink soda at all and when I do, it’s Coca-Cola about 80% of the time. (This weekend notwithstanding–I was fieldtripping with a very pro-Pepperista.)
Pepper is old news. Ancient, outdated, and only preferred by the small-minded that can’t let go of the past. Mr. PiBB is the way of the future, I tells ya! THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!!
The anti-Pibbers are probably the same people that didn’t like Josta, and got it removed from the market… in which case, I will hate you all for eternity, with every miniscule ounce of passion that my slight SPOOFE frame can muster. Bah!
I was at a party about ten years ago where they were doing Dr Pepper shots. They dropped a flaming shot of alcohol (not sure what kind) into an icy cold beer. The result was a drink that tasted remarkably like Dr Pepper. Since I love Dr P, I did quite a few of those slammers.
That’s about all I remember of the party. That, and the week-long hangover.
Oh yeah, that Green Lightning stuff is good. I gave up caffeine on New Year’s (for an unspecified length of time, still doing fine), but when I used to drink soda, I’d usually drink Dew. That was a decent knock-off of it.
It’s been forever since I’ve had any Mr. Pibb - probably since I was a kid - so I don’t even remember what it tastes like. The university that I work at has its beverage contract with Pepsi so I can’t easily do a taste test. Wonder if a store near my place sells any, hmm.
I live in a tiny town, just inside the western Arkansas line.
It’s okay, don’t pity me for that.
There is NO Mr Pibb in the entire North West corner of this state, except as fountain drinks. Period.
I’ve cornered the route men in the store and asked them why. The best answer I got, was it didn’t do well enough in competition, to get shelf space.
WHEN??
Put the freaking stuff out there again, and see if it sells.
Spouse person likes a kind of diet soda, that is the only one with the new artificial sweetener in it. Most stores don’t carry it, and the ones that do, only put out a dozen bottles at a time, no cans.
So, to feed our habits, it’s either a 50 mile round trip over the Oklahoma line, or a monthly stock-up when we are in Tulsa.
I am also (un)thrilled with the new Pibb. Idiots. Jerks. Leave it alone. Remember the New Coke??
I’ve cornered the route men in the store and asked them why. The best answer I got, was it didn’t do well enough in competition, to get shelf space.
WHEN??
–In the 70’s.
Pibb is a r-e-a-l sweet Dr. Pepper.
I suspect this may have been a point in Coke history when they tried to up-sweeten other things, too.
It would eventually lead to the “New” Coca-Cola revolution in the mid-80’s.
