I'm a DP drinker of more than 60 years - about to celebrate BD #69 in two weeks! Around 20 years ago, my doctor began the appeal to start removing as much real-sugar product from diet as possible - especially items with corn syrup/high fructose levels. Switch to Diet DP was fairly seamless - really the only true "diet" product that retains as close to the same flavor as regular DP!! That said, I don't stray from Diet DP very often - mainly when I find myself somewhere that doesn't serve DP products at all. Along with switching to Diet DP, I have begun a gradual tapering of how many either 16.9 or 20 oz. products I allow myself per day - usually only one, but am now tapering to 3-4 a week if possible due to increased glucose levels.
I was at a convenience store last week and saw a new flavor of Dr Pepper [in fact I believe there were 3-4 new "flavored" DP brands in the freezer. The one that caught my attention was Oreo Dr. Pepper,Sugar-Free which were packaged in 12 oz. cans. I knew that I wanted to try this flavored DP drink, being that one of my other "food/drink addictions" are Oreos! In addition, the tming worked out really well because my younger sister and B-I-L were in town for a short visit. I purchased 4 - 12 oz cans of our Oreo flavored DP Sugar-Free and brought them home so we could sample them and see if this was a good blending of two of my/our favorite things, or if it ma not meet up to expectations.!?! BTW- I very rarely stray from the original flavor due to the fat that I drink Diet DP for one reason only - I like the way it tastes - and I don't want that "taste" to be changed or altered in an way if possible [I believe we call this a 'traditionalist'].
Finally to the point of this review:
After dinner that evening as the four of us [Wife & I and Sister & Brother in Law] were sitting and talking - and letting dinner tastes & smells settle - I brought out the four DP Oreo Sugar-Free flavored cans and, basically, became an interviewer/reviewer of this new product known as Oreo Dr Pepper Sugar-Free. I asked all to treat it as close to a testing environment as possible [without trying to be weird or pretentious about it. (BTW - none of the four of us are alcohol drinkers in any form). Anyway - 1) sniff/aroma test before actually tasting the beverage product; 2) brief sip test and write down initial thoughts on aroma and taste; 3) - brief fuller taste test and write down how closely the product tasted like Dr Pepper, if it was possible to taste an Oreo flavor at all - and to what level; if the flavor was not distinctively of Dr Pepper, what was the flavor each person was getting from the three simple tests of our survey?? Technically, there was a fourth question of my survey, and that was "would you purchase this product again - even if it were merely to do another fair sampling of the product??
So - our initial taste testing of the new product Oreo flavored Dr Pepper Sugar-Free had the following results:
Wife - [not a real traditionalist, nor as big a fan as I regrading DP] - Sniff test = sensed first a chocolate smell (faint) and then a little stronger vanilla smell - ultimately it reminded her of the smell of a chocolate chip cookie or brownie as it was cooling; both sip & taste test = were the same - she felt it tasted much like a creme soda drink.
Brother-In-Law - [a regular Diet DP drinker] - Sniff test = a creme' type of aroma, but not particularly similar to a creme soda smell - mainly that it didn't have an aroma like Dr Pepper at all. Sip & Taste tests = both the same impressions - again the flavoring of some type of creme' product, but not really distinctive enough to tell - and did not taste anh of the 'traditional' Dr Pepper flavorings that cause him to drink Dr Pepper/Diet Dr Pepper in the first place.
Sister - [an occasional drinker of Diet DP, but also drinks Coke Zero] - Sniff test = she smelled/sensed some chocolate aromas, and felt that at least the aroma led her to believe that it might not taste like a "diet or sugar free product. Her sip & taste tests = pretty much mirrored her responses to the sniff test. She tasted some faint DP taste, but actually couldn't really tell if was a diet Dr Pepper product, or a diet Coke product.
Finally, it was my turn to review [as stated - a traditionalist, long-time DP & diet DP drinker] Sniff test = really not a distinctive smell for me (admittedly a sufferer from hay fever and exposure to ragweed which is high this time of year in Texas - so olfactory senses are not always accurate). I really did not expect to get much aroma smell knowing my own lack of ability to discern many smells at all. Sip Test = I suppose I was disappointed from the beginning of the sip test that I did not taste ANY distinctive aroma or taste, either a Dr Pepper nor an Oreo aroma or taste!! The more full taste test proved to be even more disappointing, in that I could not make out any discernable taste or aroma that reminded me of either of the two food/drink combos that I/we were searching for in this taste testing experiment. Eventually, before completely finishing the product, I was able to discern a bit of a chocolate overtone flavor, but never any type of aroma/taste overall satisfaction that I was, in fact, drinking and tasting a product that was equally discernable to be both a classic Dr Pepper taste & aroma, but that or an Oreo cookie taste of mixed Chocolate & vanilla creme' filling.
At the end of my "Very Unofficial Product Review of Oreo-Flavored Dr Pepper Sugar-Free", I aske one final question of my three family members and myself - "Would you buy this product if it were available in regular Grocery and Convenience stores close to you??
Unfortunately, the overwhelming answer to this question was ( and remains to be) NO!!!
Customer reviews for Diet Dr Pepper 12 fl. oz., 30 pk. for