What is The Oldest Soft Drink? Dr. Pepper!
A year before Coca-Cola made its appearance as a "medicinal" drink at the soda fountain of a pharmacy, Dr. Pepper made its own debut in the same sort of setting, making it the oldest manufactured soft drink/syrup in America. The year was 1885.
Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist at Morrison's Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas, was accustomed to mixing medicines for people. But he also like to tinker with formulas, trying to create a drink that would remind him of the fruit-charged atmosphere of the pharmacy, which he particularly enjoyed.
After repeated samplings shared with the store owner, the drink was put on tap at their counter, and became so popular that other soda fountain operators began buying the syrup from Morrison. Before long, the demand outgrew their ability to keep up with the drink, and the business. Alderton was really only interested in his job, and handed the whole thing over to Morrison, and Robert Lazenby, a beverage chemist who had also taken a shine to the soda.
While it's Morrison who is credited with the name Dr Pepper (the period disappeared late in the 50s), there are over a dozen stories as to what it was based on. Name aside, he and his partner were doing so well with the drink, that by 1891 they established the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company, which would one day become the Dr. Pepper Company. Their soda made its official debut at the St. Louis World's Fair, along with other firsts such as ice cream cones, and hot dogs on buns.
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