Dr. Pepper Vs. Dr. Thunder: Less Taste for Less Cost?

I've been a fan of Dr. Pepper my whole life. I love the sweet taste of it and serve it to me as a fountain drink and I'm in heaven. Every day on my way to work, I stopped at the convenience store and bought a twenty ounce to drink in the car. My commute was about a half hour and by the time I got to work, I'd be ready to buy one from the machine. At home, I kept the two liters stocked in the fridge and ran through them like crazy.

I've since retired from that job. Being at home meant running through even more soda. I'm addicted, I know, but that's the way it is. Dr. Pepper was my drink of choice and only on rare occasions did I buy something different such as Pepsi or Coke.

We moved a few years ago. Last summer my new landlords hosted a cookout on the fourth of July for the complex I lived in and the whole block. In an effort to save money, a Sam's Choice soda was served. It was called Dr. Thunder, comparable to Dr. Pepper. Being outside and not wanting to run home to get my own, I tried the Dr. Thunder and was amazed at how close it tasted to the Dr. Pepper. The main difference was that the Dr. Thunder had just a little bit more of a sweet taste to it. I liked it and was told it was a lot cheaper and was purchased at Sam's Club.

I'm not a member of Sam's Club. I have a family of three and I've never had a need or desire or the room for that matter to buy in bulk. As a result, a membership has never appealed to me and I wasn't about to pay for one just for the sake of saving some money on soda. That was fine. The Dr. Pepper, to me, did still taste a little better than the Dr. Thunder and changing wasn't something I wanted to do anyway.

I guess I'd never noticed it before, but on my next shopping trip, there it was. WalMart sold the Sam's Choice Dr. Thunder. I checked the two prices. Dr. Pepper was being sold for $1.08 for a two liter while the Dr. Thunder was being sold for a flat $0.50 for a two liter. Quite a difference. Especially when we're talking about a person who can drink a two liter by herself in about two days. So, I bought the Dr. Thunder, lots of it, thinking of all the money I was saving. My husband thought the idea was great. He constantly complained about the amount of money we were spending on soda as a household. I agreed with him, but soda is the only thing I like to drink besides water. I don't drink coffee, I don't like juice, so when I'm not in the mood for water, soda is the only other thing I will drink.

My love affair with the Dr. Thunder was short lived. Although it was much, much cheaper, there were differences I just didn't like. I began to notice that the slightly sweeter taste that I hadn't minded in the beginning left a weird after taste in my mouth. In addition to that was an even bigger complaint. An unfinished glass of Dr. Pepper can be sat in the fridge and be drank later without losing too much taste as long as it's within the same day. The Dr. Thunder, however, lost taste quickly. I don't like to waste soda, so I sit glasses in the fridge and go back to them. You can't do that with Dr. Thunder. Within no time, it will become unbearably flat making it impossible to drink. The result? A lot of Dr. Thunder dumped down the sink. I quickly got annoyed with this and the after taste. The price difference is significant, but to me it wasn't worth it considering the extra soda that was being wasted.

I've since switched back to Dr. Pepper.