Question of the Day - 25 July 2007

You're not wrong. Our extensive research into the topic uncovered a total of zero casino bars that serve Dr Pepper. You can, however, purchase cans and bottles from those casino gift shops and vending machines that are in properties that serve Coke rather than Pepsi (more of this later), but that's it. Why, you may ask?

Well, the most common reason we were given, which does seem to make sense, is that there's very little demand, if any (aside from you!), particularly bearing in mind that most bars are focusing on liquor sales. Whereas Coke (or Pepsi) is frequently mixed with Bacardi or Jack Daniels and is a constituent of many cocktails including the Cuba Libra, Long Island Iced Tea, and Black Russian, can you name a single cocktail that includes Dr Pepper? We couldn't. So we searched and searched and came up with only one, namely the Dr Pepper Flame, which includes the tooth-decaying, stomach-churning combination of your favorite soda, plus amaretto and Bacardi 151. Yuch.

Before we tell you where you can buy Dr Pepper, here's a little background (you piqued our interest). The drink was created in Waco, Texas in 1885 by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton. The U.S. patent office lists Dec. 1, 1885 as the first time it was served. Alderton worked at a joint called Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store and the owner of the store, Wade Morrison, is credited for naming the drink after a friend of his, Dr. Charles Pepper.

As demand for the drink grew, Alderton lost interest in pursing the business and manufacturing end of production, so Morrison teamed up with one Robert S. Lazenby, the owner of the Circle "A" Ginger Ale Co. in Waco. The two formed the Artesian Manufacturing & Bottling Company in 1891 and introduced Dr Pepper to the rest of the public at the 1904 World's Fair Exposition in St. Louis.

Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc. was formed when Dr Pepper merged with the Seven-Up company in 1986 and nine years later Cadbury Schweppes acquired Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc. Today ,Dr Pepper is marketed by Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages and is distributed in the Las Vegas area by the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. A map showing the breakdown of the major casinos that serve Pepsi (27) and Coke (18) can be found at vegastodayandtomorrow.com, a great site for anyone interested in the development of Las Vegas and its architecture, which is updated frequently and tallied with our own independent findings.

As far as the story that Dr Pepper was once used as a laxative is concerned, it most likely stems from the erroneous but common belief that one of the ingredients of the drink is prune juice. According to the Dr Pepper Web site, the drink is a proprietary blend of 23 unidentified flavors and other ingredients, but the company does confirm that prunes are not one of them. There's speculation that the prune rumor was started as early as 1930 by a competitor's deliveryman who was trying to discourage store owners on his route from stocking the drink. Wow, if true that was one effective piece of propaganda.

• We just found another Mr Pibb vendor, namely Red Rock Chili Co. (9500 S. Eastern Ave. #150), which also serves decent chili.
07/25/2007 Yet another interesting addition:
• "Many years ago, my grandmother taught me a version of poker called: 'Dr Pepper' because it had 10s, 2s, and 4s wild. I think the 10-2-4 part of the logo is gone now but from what I remember, that was the 'time of day' the company suggested you drink Dr Pepper. (Yes, my brother is a Dr Pepper diehard!)"
HA!
• "Since we had always assumed that the original ingredient was prune juice, my sister's nightlclub served a drink with Dr. Pepper and Royal Crown. It's a "Royal Flush."
QoD vindicated!
• "About the search for Dr. Pepper ... as always, congrats on a great answer. I'd always wondered about Dr. Pepper being an "independent" product so thanks for the background. And just as a treat, I'm recommending to you the site webtender.com, where you can search recipies by name (there are three Black Russians and yes, one includes coke) or ingredient (Dr. Pepper returned 28 recipies). Happy hunting and thanks, as always, for the terrific job you guys do."
• "I learned something today -- you're right, there are indeed some recipes that call for a splash of Coke in a Black Russian, although most of the recipes (and all of the ones I've made as a bartender) were sans cola. "I also noticed I didn't spell Kahlua correctly in my e-mail, which made its way on to the QoD page. :( " [Ed: Don't worry, we're just pleased we hadn't screwed up!]
More info for Mr Pibb fans:
• "You can get Mr. Pibb at Gordon Biersch restaurant/microbrewery at Paradise and Flamingo."
We stand corrected:
• "You mentioned in the QoD that Pepsi or Coke is used to make a Black Russian -- it is not. A Black Russian is simply Kahula and vodka. To make it a White Russian, add cream ... and to make that a Colorado Bulldog ... add Coke."
More on Mr Pibb:
• "Dr Pepper Comment: I have had this problem also on past trips. I've found some places do carry Mr Pibb Extra. It's not Dr. Pepper but it's close when you don't want Coke or Pepsi. Not sure who produces this. I did find Mr. Pibb Extra at the snack bar/deli at the Tropicana. Found it other places but can't recall where -- usually at fast food-type places."
MORE cool stuff:
• "Just another sidenote on today's Question of the Day about Dr. Pepper. There is a Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, where I live, that Dr. Pepper fans might like to stop by at. Among other things they have Dr. Pepper floats, ice cream cups with Dr. Pepper syrup on top (very very sweet), and you can mix up your own concoction."
LATEST UPDATE: Former LVA staffer David Matthews just wrote in with the following interesting comments:
• "Interesting QoD. One thing that I thought would be a cool QoD is how to get a Coke in all the Pepsi places around town. There are some tricks for the Coke people like me. For example, at the Palms you can get a Coke at the McDonald's. At a number of casinos you can get a Coke at the movie theaters. Another trick at the MGM poker room is to walk a very short distance out by the Starbucks (near Rainforest Cafe) and there's a convenience store seemingly on the MGM property itself. "Vegas is a tough town for Coke fans, but there are some decent tricks. I'd like to see the Vegas Today and Tomorrow list complete with the tricks sometime." Great idea! Does anyone else have any tricks like this they'd like to pass on? If so, please send 'em in via the QoD submission route and we'll run them as a new article. This is proving to be a great week for reader feedback -- every QoD is generating interesting responses, for which many thanks. Here's what we've had so far on Dr. P:
• "RE: Flaming Dr. Pepper (as we call it in South Florida). Don't knock it 'til you try it! Yes, it sounds gross but the shot is very tasty and fun to dri