# The funk in the new diet Dr. Pepper **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640 "2006-06-29T15:38:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/1 "2006-06-29T15:38:13Z")
The new diet Dr. Pepper has got the **FUNK**. It’s not a good funk. It’s a bitter, plastic-flavored funk. The funk makes my heart burn. It’s the kind of funk that tricks my taste buds into thinking I just drank gasoline. This is the funk that makes me look for fungus in the can. The old funk was a sublime thing. I never knew it had a funk until this new one showed up. I want the old funk back. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/2 "2006-06-29T15:38:54Z")
> [@Subway Prophet](#): > > The new diet Dr. Pepper has got the **FUNK**. > > It’s not a good funk. It’s a bitter, plastic-flavored funk. The funk makes my heart burn. It’s the kind of funk that tricks my taste buds into thinking I just drank gasoline. This is the funk that makes me look for fungus in the can. > > The old funk was a sublime thing. I never knew it had a funk until this new one showed up. > > I want the old funk back. ☹ There’s a new diet Dr. Pepper? How long has it been around? I had one about three weeks ago and didn’t notice any difference. -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/3 "2006-06-29T16:48:09Z")
The new regular Dr. Pepper tastes funny too. Why do companies have to mess with a GOOD THING??? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/4 "2006-06-29T16:51:03Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > There’s a new diet Dr. Pepper? > > How long has it been around? I had one about three weeks ago and didn’t notice any difference. I’m not sure. So far, I’ve only had it in cans with the new logo design (see [this wikipedia image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cherry-Vanilla-Berries-and-Cream-Dr-Pepper.jpg) - the new logo for all flavors is similar to the Berries and Cream flavor on the right.) I’m guessing it’s a recent “Hooray for our anniversary, now let’s kill the product” hooplah. For what it’s worth, the new regular flavor ain’t too bad - it’s a little sweeter, a little closer in flavor to the old sugar cane recipe. It’s just the new diet flavor that makes me long for [ageusia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageusia). ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/5 "2006-06-29T16:54:05Z")
> [@Subway Prophet](#): > > For what it’s worth, the new regular flavor ain’t too bad …unless it really _is_ bad, as in **Missy2U’s** case. I wonder if there’s any market in buying the old flavors locally and reselling them on the internet before they’re all gone? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/6 "2006-06-29T16:58:06Z")
I’m not finding anything on google about a new formula for Dr. Pepper. Just stuff about their new logo. Could someone point the way to some info for me? -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/7 "2006-06-29T17:02:36Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m not finding anything on google about a new formula for Dr. Pepper. Just stuff about their new logo. > > Could someone point the way to some info for me? > > -Kris Frylock, I can’t find anything - it’s just something I noticed and that my husband commented on. For all I know, we could be nuts and are just “associating” a new taste or something to it because of the new can. I don’t know - I prefer beer anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/8 "2006-06-29T17:23:39Z")
I haven’t noticed Dr Pepper tasting any different. Maybe it was just the one you got? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/9 "2006-06-29T17:38:22Z")
I’ve been drinking Dr. Pepper pretty much daily for years and I haven’t noticed a difference. I’m drinking one right now. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/10 "2006-06-29T17:41:12Z")
Has the new, unpleasant funk repeated for you in cans from different sources? Artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame (Nutra Sweet) will go very bad-tasting if they get too warm or old. You say it’s a new-design can, so my bet would be that your can got left out in the sun at some point in its life. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/11 "2006-06-29T17:57:58Z")
OK, maybe I really am not losing my mind as much as I thought I was. I used to adore Diet Dr. Pepper – was my favorite carbonated beverage for a long time. However, being a cheap bastard, I don’t buy any carbonated beverage unless it’s on sale, and it hadn’t been on sale in quite a while, up until a couple of weeks ago. I was so excited to finally have it again, and, well, it doesn’t much taste anything like it used to. ☹ I’m not sure what it does taste like, but it’s sure not what I remembered. I decided it had to be me… until I read this thread! And these are 2 liter bottles, BTW… it’s just different. And it really seems they fixed something that wasn’t broken. Progress? Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/12 "2006-06-29T18:04:49Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Has the new, unpleasant funk repeated for you in cans from different sources? > > Artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame (Nutra Sweet) will go very bad-tasting if they get too warm or old. You say it’s a new-design can, so my bet would be that your can got left out in the sun at some point in its life. That’s what I thought at first. But I’ve had it in the cans, bottles and from gas station soda fountains, and that same taste is in there. Maybe there’s a rogue employee at the local syrup plant or something - but I can only taste it in cans & bottles with the new logo. I had just gotten used to the taste of diet Dr. Pepper too, after switching from regular. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/13 "2006-06-29T18:30:28Z")
I think you just got the odd bottle that that happens to. I’ve been drinking Diet Dr. Pepper for years and have always gotten the occasional bottle that tastes like you describe. Luckily, they’ve been few and far between. Haven’t noticed any difference myself between the Diet Dr. Pepper in the new bottles vs. the old. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funk-in-the-new-diet-dr-pepper/362640/14 "2006-06-29T19:01:07Z")
> [@Subway Prophet](#): > > …unless it really _is_ bad, as in **Missy2U’s** case. I wonder if there’s any market in buying the old flavors locally and reselling them on the internet before they’re all gone? Apparently, there is. The original Dr. Pepper plant in Dublin, TX, still uses the original formula with Imperial cane sugar and sells their product online. "As the owner, Bill (Kloster) continued to emphasize those same values he had learned as a young man. He held on to the original drink formula, the antiquated bottling equipment, and a massive assortment of Dr Pepper collectibles which became his passion. Through the years, he used those elements to develop a successful enterprise and a popular tourist attraction. And most important, he built a fiercely loyal following for Dublin Dr Pepper around the world. The media were drawn to him like bees to honey and dubbed him “Mr. Dr Pepper.” When bottom line indicated the tiny Dublin plant should give up Imperial Pure Cane Sugar in exchange for less expensive corn sweeteners, Bill balked. He continued to subscribe to the country theory of “dancin’ with who brung ya,” refusing to change the recipe which has always given the local product its unique taste. Bill Kloster, the Dublin bottling plant, and Dublin Dr Pepper remained true to themselves." [History of Dublin Dr Pepper](http://www.dublindrpepper.com/history.aspx?odrd=true&setuser=) [Where to order Dublin Dr Pepper](http://www.olddocs.com/results.aspx?cat=Drinks&subcat1=Dr+Pepper)