Dr. Pepper isn’t a big thing here in Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a normal supermarket, only specially shops that sell American lollies. I got one (imported from the UK) as a freebie yesterday, and when I tried it, it tasted like pink medicine (BAD). Is it supposed to taste like pink medicine? Was it expired? Did it go bad from remaining unshelled for a while? Is the recipe different (worse) in the UK? Surely pink medicine: the soft drink wouldn’t be so popular.
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Definitely not supposed to taste like that lol i don’t think ive ever had dr pepper taste like pink medicine
What’s pink medicine?
You know, I have heard root beer tastes medicinal to non Americans, but this is the first time I’ve seen Dr pepper described as such. Our pink medicine tastes nothing like Dr pepper, what does Australia’s taste like?
Yes it’s a artificial cola in that the inventor wanted it to taste like how a soda shop smelled not one single taste like coke for example
It’s an acquired taste.
Grow up on stuff and it tastes normal
Coming from a not Dr Pepper fan who has seen people eat pickled seal blubber with a joy I have for chicken wings
It does have a bit of a medicinal flavor (and was originally patent medicine I believe), though I wouldn’t describe it as you do. That said, I’ve found that Dr Pepper is a soda where the people who don’t like it REALLY don’t like it, so in that way your reaction is not uncommon.
It’s definitely a unique flavor that I could see being offensive to unaccustomed pallets. I’ve heard people say the same about root beer. I love them both, but I’ve heard from many Aussies and Europeans that both taste medicinal and gross.
If you’ve ever had cherry flavored Coca Cola, it’s very similar to that taste. You might’ve gotten a weird drink but it might just be your taste buds are differently acclimated!
No, it’s not supposed to taste like that. You have to get some US bottled stuff.
Nah it does taste like that. It’s an acquired taste. Try root beer next. Foreigners tend to HATE it!
They don’t call it DOCTOR pepper for nothing…….
I will see myself out
Pink medicine? Like amoxicillin? No, it shouldn’t taste like that but it is a specialty taste. A very unique flavor. But I don’t think it went bad, the UK version is different than the U.S. version, it has sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup but the flavoring should be the same, just less sweet. Maybe you just don’t like it.
I have no idea why that particular soda tasted like to you. Maybe there was something wrong with it. Maybe it’s different in the UK – I’ve never had one from there for reasons that I think should be obvious. I don’t have a particularly refined palette for “pink medicine” so I couldn’t tell you if they’re similar.
Sometimes, different places like different tastes. If this confuses you…you come from the place where people eat vegemite on purpose.
Dr. Pepper is the superior soda.
We don’t know what your pink medicine tastes like.
Entirely unrelated, but Charles Alderton designed Dr. Pepper to taste like his pharmacy in Waco, TX smelled.
I had my first Vegemite sandwich today. It was awful. Is it supposed to taste Like That? If so, why is it so popular?
Vegemite isn’t a big thing here in the USA. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a normal supermarket, only specially shops that sell Australian food. I got one (imported from Australia as a freebie yesterday, and when I tried it, it tasted like foot fungus (BAD). Is it supposed to taste like foot fungus? Was it expired? Did it go bad from remaining unshelled for a while? Is the recipe different (worse) in the USA? Surely foot fungus: the food wouldn’t be so popular.
Dr. Pepper doesn’t taste like medicine to me.
It’s supposed to taste kind of like a cola with cherry and prune (grape) mixed in. I’m allergic to amoxicillin, but my sense is that is a chalky cherry taste, so it does not sound like you got a real Dr Pepper.
That isn’t the way it’s supposed to taste. Dr. Pepper tastes sort of like cherry coke but more sharp, if that makes sense.
Yes, it’s absolutely disgusting. Tastes like cherry cola that’s gone bad to me.
Ask an American to try Vegemite for the first time and you’ll get the same reaction.
I have no idea wtf most of this means, so I’ll answer your question with a question: why the hell do you people eat vegemite?
OP is just finding out that different people have different tastes.
A note: I haven’t had Dr Pepper in Australia but I had a Dr Pepper in Europe somewhere that was one of the most terrible things I’ve ever tasted.
In the US it’s pretty great
Well, that’s bc you had Dr. Pepper and not Dr Pepper 😉
But for serious, it shouldn’t taste like that. I wonder if it spoiled while being shipped.
American here and doctor pepper taste like cheap cough medicine.
I don’t like Dr Pepper, never really got the hype. Tastes gross to me.
Yeah, I’ve worked with a few Australians (ski resort/travel destination town) and more than one of them mentioned how much they absolutely HATED root beer. I could see Sr Pepper being similar. It’s basically an amalgamation of Coke, root beer, cream soda, a bunch of other stuff, and does have that slightly medicinal taste.
I think Dr. Pepper is just ok. I’ll drink it if it’s all there is, but I would prefer a Coke (not Pepsi, ever) or even just a root beer. My wife is absolutely OBSESSED with it, though.
I love Dr. Pepper’s flavor. But apparently some nations use that as a medicine flavor, so your associations with it are bad.
I’ve always been a Coke guy. To me Dr Pepper tastes like carbonated prune juice.
Yes, Dr. Pepper tastes like medicine. It’s not one of the most popular drinks (at least not in my area) but there are definitely people who really like it.
Yes, it’s supposed to taste like that.
My wife is from Greece and loves the taste of our cough syrup here but hates our root beer.
On the flipside, I love greek cough syrup because it tastes like cherry coke to me.
That sounds strange because Dr Pepper always tasted like cake and cupcakes to me. Maybe the last flavor they got, the blackberry might taste a smidge like medicine.
Dr Pepper is the elixir of the gods, it shouldn’t taste anything but delicious. Kids tend to like it more than Coca Cola, I find, because Coke has a bit stronger, more adult, less sweet flavor and more of a burning sensation.
As others have said, root beer tends to be the flavor non-Americans find strange. I once had a Brazilian exchange student tell me it tasted like toothpaste. It contains the flavor of sassafras root, which perhaps could be said to be a bit medicinal or minty, but I don’t perceive it that way. Kids also tend to like root beer over Coke.
No idea cuz I also hate it.
I am absolutely curious why you think this.
I kind of get the “medicinal” taste Europeans complain about with root beer. I think that’s fair, kind of ridiculous but fair.
But Dr. Pepper? You either got a bad batch or your palate is so jacked up from Vegemite we can’t trust it.
It’s gross. You’re right.
It’s weird because I loved Dr Pepper as a kid, then one day I brought a bottle of it to a college class and suddenly it made me want to puke. Entirely random, haven’t really touched it since.
Also, if by “pink medicine” you mean amoxicillin, I loved that stuff.
It’s not for me and makes me physically ill even thinking of the taste. It’s how I expect isopropyl alcohol or brake fluid to taste.
Dr. Pepper is amazing. I don’t know what you were drinking but doesn’t sound like Dr. Pepper to me. God forbid different people from different countries enjoy different things than you
23 flavors. The big one is prune, believe it or not.
It’s the HP sauce of soda in multiple ways, and as much as I love you sick cunts, I will fistfight you over my Dr. Pepper. It’s the only soda with a doctorate…from a good school, too. Nothing like that pretender, Mr. Pibb.
I swear it tastes different than it used to. I loved it 20 years ago but now it leaves a film on my tongue.
I used to like it, I went off soda for a long time and tried it. I hated it!
Dr Pepper used to have a unique peppery taste, but now it tastes sweet. Some cream sodas taste like medicine to me.
It’s supposed to taste like it does. Never really considered it to taste anything like pink medicine, but this could be like cilantro where some people think it tastes like soap. Never heard this for Dr Pepper tbh, I’ve only heard it for root beer.
I’ve always disliked Dr Pepper. I haven’t had one in years, so I don’t have a clear memory of the flavor… but I definitely describe it as medicinal.
Maybe it was old
Dr Pepper is horrible. The worst. Barq’s root beer is better and that’s a low bar.
Prune juice. Dr. Pepper is supposed to taste like prune juice.
The Dr. Pepper from the UK isn’t exactly like the US version. It has almost half the sugar and doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup, which of course affects the taste. Dr. Pepper is by far my favorite soda and I didn’t like the UK version at all when I visited.
Random memory – when I was a child, decades ago, in Montana, there was a gas station that served hot Dr. Pepper. It was just a gas station, they didn’t sell food or anything else, just gas, but on cold days they’d set out a tray of small paper cups filled with steaming Dr. Pepper, which they gave away for free. So weird.
Root beer and Dr. Pepper….good stuff…I’ve never mixed them.
Ultimately, different strokes for different folks.
I LOVE bitter things and love medicinal flavors…
Yet, I find Dr. Pepper to be a truly vile substance that tastes like someone pissed in expired root beer.
People are just different.
From googling, the UK version has less sugar
Dr. Pepper has licorice which can be quite off putting if you’re not accustomed to the flavor.
Anyways, it wouldn’t surprise me if the can was just old. What you’re describing is a bit much for the typically reaction of someone who just doesn’t like Dr. Pepper. It does have a fairly strong herbal taste to it, but it’s pretty far from medicine. If you told me, it had a medicinal aftertaste, I would believe you.
It tastes like it tastes. It was created by a pharmacist, after all. It was sold as a vaguely medical concoction in the beginning.
I hate it too. I do like root/birch beer though.
As the name suggests, Dr Pepper has its origins in patent medicine (like coca cola and 7up). So the sweet+medicinal combo is kinda the point. They have a loy in common with amari, where they combine bitter and sweet elements. Have an Amaro Montenegro or an Amaro del Capo. They hit a lot of those same notes.
Does your medicine taste like cherries? Because thats like the main stand out flavor of Dr. Pepper
Dr. Pepper shouldn’t taste like pink anything. That said, it’s largely herbal. In the same vain as root beer, but with a different set of herbs, spices, and fruits (the exact recipe is secret, but it’s known to have plum and even tomato).
Our “pink medicine” is either Pepto-Bismol, which has a vaguely bubble gum flavor, or liquid antibiotics which are usually given to children who can’t tolerate pills. That’s usually a cherry or bubble gum flavor. Nothing at all like Dr. Pepper. But without knowing what your version of “pink medicine” tastes like, I can’t really say one way or another.
Dr. Pepper should taste like cola, with some subtle black licorice, black pepper, cardamom, and cherry notes. Maybe you’re tasting cherry, which could be used in medicine. But I feel like you’d know that. Dr. Pepper has a cherry version where they take it to the next level. Try one of those. If you hate it worse, then you know it was the cherries.
Dr. Pepper is one of those sodas that people either love or can’t stand. I can’t stand it myself. I would rather have a regular cola type soda.
Dr Pepper is a love/hate kind of thing. Either you love it or hate it. I personally hate the taste of it.
Dr. Pepper doesn’t taste the same outside America (not saying you’d like the American version). Also, KDP licenses the manufacture and distribution of Dr.Pepper outside the US to PepsiCo and Coca Cola.
Some people like different things 🤭
I love Dr Pepper! So good. Mmmm mmmm
Our pink medicine tastes like mint or bubblegum, depending on brand. It tastes nothing like Dr Pepper or Root Beer in the US.
Bleh, Dr Pepper is awful to me too.
I know exactly the flavor you’re describing. You can also find it in candies like white Necco wafers.
That flavor comes from root derivatives, with this flavor (I’m guessing from experience) coming from Birch trees or saspurila.
It’s a flavor most North Americans are used to since tree sap was one of the few sweeteners we had in the olden days, like how Nordic cultures only had liquorice root.
Most Americans hate black liquorice ( i love it, especially salted) for the same reason. It’s just unfamiliar.
Try it with a sip of sweetened coffee. That combination got me through years of graveyard shifts
This coming from somebody in the country that consumes Vegemite…
I’m an American and I think Dr. Pepper is pretty gross. But I don’t like Coke or Pepsi either.
Are you sure you didn’t have the Strawberries and cream Dr. Pepper?
I know what you mean, taste like medicine. I alsodidn’t grow up with it. The flavor is supposed to be like licorice root tea, which I prefer, not as a soda.
Next, try Mountain Dew.
(Don’t)
I had my first Fosters today… is it supposed to taste like dog piss or is that normal? Dog piss isn’t a normal thing here in the US…
To each there own buddy….
I’ve never had Dr. Pepper (my parents ban sodas and before you say “but you are an adult”, I’m under 18) but it has a reputation for tasting like medicine to people who don’t like it.
I wish medicine tasted like Dr. Pepper!
American here. Dr pepper is fucking disgusting. I’ve tried it a time or two and yeah. Totally gross. I have no idea why anyone would ever want to drink one. Barf
It’s very polarizing yes. I’m not a fan of it.
There’s a reason Diet Dr Pepper tastes so similar, compared to most diet sodas. It’s because the flavor comes from a bunch of spices and flavorings
Dr Pepper should taste like a spicy cherry cola. It is best very cold. It was made to be somewhat medicinal in its original recipe. 23 flavors. Meant to settle your stomach and the like.
I had Dr. Pepper in Australia in 1997. It was not what it taste like in the States. It did taste like medicine. Ours is a mix of cola flavor and root beer.
If it came from the UK I wonder if it was also need in the UK. There are certain ingredients that aren’t allowed to be in foods that are imported from the US. US food and agriculture is not as regulated as Europe. I would compare the ingredients from a Dr pepper in portage Street from the US and the one you got from the UK.
But also, certain things are just an acquired taste to be honest. I love Dr pepper. I love root beer. I like sassafras tea, which is the plant that root beer is me from. This is probably a cultural thing to the United States.
I also like drinking malta, which is a non-alcoholic malt drink. I am an American who is also Hispanic and I know no one who likes to drink malta. The only exceptions are other Hispanics or people who grew up with it. Again, another cultural thing.
Coca cola classic is the supreme soda beverage. Better than anything else available
Sprite being a close second
The following can fuck off
Pepsi
Rc cola
Mountain dew
Etc
7-up gets a pass I’ll allow it
Dr. Pepper is an acquired taste.. I know people who love it but I’m not a fan. It’s 23 different flavors like some kid went to a soda fountain and pressed them all, including the Powerade, and said yup.
I have lived in America most of my life and I agree that Dr. pepper and Root Beer taste like medicine. I do not enjoy them at all.
I’m a Dr Pepper lover, but I’m from NM and it’s very popular there. I personally can’t stand root beer or mountain dew though. I will say taste is going to to depend on many factors. How it’s being made over there, how cold it is, is it in a can or bottle, the carbonation and syrup can also be off. You could also just not like it. Everyone has different tastes after all.
So I’m a Dr Pepper fan… in the USA. They do NOT get the mix right elsewhere. I’ve had it in the UK, Germany, and Japan, and they all taste mediciney when they’re bottled/canned outside the US. Everywhere else doesn’t have enough “bite” to the flavor, so it tastes flat and syrupy.
I love Dr Pepper. I have visited the Dr Pepper museum in Waco, Tx. It is a flavor the I grew up with. Texas has another strange soda, also from Waco called Big Red. It is a cream soda.
Just a note, Dr does not have a period in Dr Pepper.
Wait until you’ve tried Mr. Pibb.
Funny, I felt the same way about Golden Gaytime. Don’t understand the appeal, but I didn’t grow up with them.
It could be worse. You could be eating vegemite. 🤮