Hurrah! A new series on Blankbaby! That’s right, folks, I plan on actually POSTING to Blankbaby once again (who is excited?).
This new series was inspired by Terry. He stopped by my desk after I tweeted about the MacBook Air and said, “I’m going to ask your opinion about what everyone must be asking you about: Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper.”
Terry, being the scamp that he is, knew that no one had asked me about said bubbly beverage, but that I would be intrigued. Ever since swearing off sweet, sweet Pepsi I have been a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper drinker. I frickin’ love the stuff, which is sad because it isn’t as widely available as I would like (what’s up with that, bottlers and distributors of Dr. Pepper?). It would follow that Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper would pique my interest. Terry waskind enough to give me a can from the 3 cases that he bought (without tasting the stuff first, I might add). Terry seemed to be enjoying it, but one must note that Terry is a fan of the vile Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, so his opinion is suspect.
Oonto the review:
The packaging
Terry supplied me with a can of this stuff, as seen to the right. As you can see both on bottles and cans of this stuff the image of cherries semi-coated with chocolate are displayed prominently. I don’t care for this one bit, mostly because the image of a red orb dripping with some 
sort of brown liquid doesn’t scream, ‘DRINK ME!’ It mostly says, ‘potential biohazard,’ to me.
Contrast this with the branding for Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper as seen here. The cherries, though you can hardly make them out in this picture, look like heathy cherries and the pin-striping calls to mind a soda shop from yesteryear. Who wouldn’t want to quaff a heaping mouthful of anything in that can?
Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper could learn a thing or two from Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper’s packaging, though the addition of the pin-wheel burst is a nice touch but it still doesn’t work as well as the pin-striping.
The taste
I was skeptical, at best, when I first heard of this beverage. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate to begin with (I like it just fine, but I do not go ga-ga for it like some people) so I was doubtful that Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper would unseat Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper as the king of my diet soda drinking. I was afraid that the chocolate would be overpowering, and just kill the rest of the soda. I’m happy to report that the chocolate isn’t overpowering at all. There is, what can only be described as a ‘ribbon’ of chocolaty taste in this beverage which does not offend the taste-buds at all.
Before all you chocolohics rush out to buy 45 cases of this stuff let me point out that while I could easily identify the taste as chocolaty it isn’t a pure chocolate taste. At first I was reminded of Yoo-hoo but then Terry set me straight: it sort of tastes like you’re drinking a chocolate Tootsie-Pop. I like chocolate Tootsie-Pops, but Godiva they ain’t.
Did I like it? Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper isn’t bad, and is a fine once in awhile beverage. It isn’t the beverage I would reach for first to quench my thirst, and furthermore if I see it for sale I won’t buy it for myself.
Final Thoughts
I applaud the fine people at Dr. Pepper for being inventive with their products. It is tough to keep something that has been around for as long as Dr. Pepper has been interesting, and they are doing a great job. I still love Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, but I am always willing to give their newest additions a fair shake. Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper is drinkable, which is more than I can say for the vile Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, so at least progress is being made. I, for one, look forward to a brave new Dr. Pepper future.
11 responses to “Adventures in limited edition food: Diet Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper”
I have to agree with you. I am not a huge fan of this drink either. It totally tastes like a tootsie-pop! That’s exactly what we said upon first consuming this beverage. I am not a fan of this chocolatey tasting liquid, so I’ll pass on this in the future too.
This reminds me of an article from the New Yorker from March 2004. (Before the dawn of Coke Zero, Diet Vanilla blah blah blah…) I remember reading it and thinking it was completely hilarious, but the best part is that now four years later it’s entirely true. Since I couldn’t find a straightforward link to it (since I could only find it cached on google), I thought I’d reprint the entire thing here in your comments. It’s called “Something for Everyone” by Andrew Barlow. It was in response to an Associated Press tidbit that said, “Soft drink makers Coke and Pepsi are testing a cola that has fewer calories than the original and a different flavor than the diet version often turned to by weight-conscious consumers. The concept is called mid-calorie cola. The idea is to market a product in the middle, one that offers good taste but with only a fraction of the calories of regular soda. ”
The article: (I hope you don’t hate me for putting the whole thing here, but I thought it was very funny.)
has announced that its lemon-flavored cola, Pepsi Twist, will soon be available in a caffeine-free version. A spokesperson for Pepsi says that the new beverage is expected to appeal to cola drinkers who enjoy the flavor of Pepsi Twist but do not wish to consume caffeine.
Soft-drink giant Coke will soon combine elements from two of its latest creations, Mid-Calorie Coke and Vanilla Coke, to create a beverage that will be known as Mid-Calorie Vanilla Coke. Coke will also begin distributing caffeine-free versions of Vanilla Coke and Diet Vanilla Coke. The company is rumored to be testing a version of Vanilla Coke that has a somewhat, but not entirely, reduced caffeine level.
Correcting an oversight, Coke will soon rush-distribute a caffeine-free version of Mid-Calorie Vanilla Coke. A Coke spokesperson said, “Now cola drinkers who desire a mid-calorie, vanilla-flavored cola that has no caffeine can at last be a part of the Coke family.”
Three new Pepsi beverages will soon be available at your local Pepsi store. The first, PepsiCK, will be thirty per cent Coke. The second, Pepsi300, will feature a traditional amount of vanilla flavoring and three times the calories of regular Pepsi. It will be available in five different caffeine levels. The third drink, Chunky Pepsi, will contain whole cocoa beans. This beverage has tested well among older cola drinkers. (Coke, not to be outdone, will begin distributing its own chunky soda, Coke Grovestand, next year.)
Coke has announced that Coke Grovestand will be made available in a mid-calorie version.
Next year, Pepsi will introduce a line of carbonated beverages that have more sodium than any previous cola. The first of these will be Caffeine-Free Diet Vanilla Mid-Lemon Pepsi with Additional Sodium, in a version that has a reduced amount of potassium benzoate. The beverage will have a national ad campaign starring Christine Todd Whitman. A Pepsi spokesperson said, “We have found that, of our customers who enjoy the refreshing taste of Caffeine-Free Diet Mid-Lemon Pepsi, there are several thousand who enjoy vanilla flavoring in addition to the physiological effects of a very high sodium intake. Then, of those valued customers, there are four—maybe six—who desire the possible health benefits of consuming less potassium benzoate, a preservative we use in our diet colas. We believe that these customers are the authors of a 1989 study in which potassium benzoate was found to cause cancer in several rats. Though their findings are questionable, we salute the bright scientists of the Birnbaum-Halliday study, and we hope they will try our new soft drink.”
Coke, after nearly twelve decades in business, is closing its doors. Coke cited as reasons for this the failure of its many CokeLand shops, and Pepsi’s growing dominance in the increasingly important field of specialty colas. Although Coke triumphed steadily in one area—that of its Double-Diet No-Vanilla Neapolitan Okay-Some-Vanilla Cherry Coke—profits from that beverage were insufficient to counterbalance Pepsi’s considerable gains. (In the past year, Pepsi has seen record sales from its Caffeine-Blast Pepsi Wintergreen, Pepsi 18-34, and Cool-Ranch Pepsi varieties.) “We congratulate Pepsi,” a Coke spokesperson said. “Pepsi won this. It was a tough fight. More power to them, I say.”
Diet Mug Root Beer is the only diet drink for me. In my estimation, NOTHING tastes nearly as good. Root Beer has no caffeine.
Diane, I’m confused as to why you’d drink a soda without caffeine?! Hehe.
I kid, I kid. I like root beer too. I would drink more of it, if it had caffeine though.
Next time you come over I PROMISE I will have something you like to drink. I can’t help but think this post is an angry message aimed smack dab at the center of my Trader Joe’s spritzer-loving heart. Seriously, it was so nice to see you as always and people commented after your departure about how funny you were. (Is that the first time you have heard that?)
Until next time, I am off to stock up on soda…
I, too, recently had some of this beverage. My very first reaction was the Tootsie-Pop. It is “ok”, but I’d never drink it regularly.
My hubby would probably love this stuff. His fav flavor pops are the chocolate tootsies. I hadn’t heard of this. I’ll have to buy some soon.
Your blog is very good.
Will you link my blog?
http://diet-method-blog.blogspot.com/
AM ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR cANFIELDS dIET cHOCOLATE DRINK AND WAS TOLD dR. pEPPER NOW MAKES A SIMILAR CHOCLOLATE NO CALORIE SODA? WITHOUT CHERRY? pLEASE TELL ME WHERE IT IS SOLD.
You’re a loser. “…mostly because the image of a red orb dripping with some sort of brown liquid…” FYI: they’re called cherries with chocolate. Ever heard of it? Or do you just live in a cave? Oh, nice beard, too.
What is the definition of happiness?