Dr Pepper Malts and Other Pleasant Memories

As a teenager, one of my jobs was as a soda jerk at Renfro’s Drugs on 35th Street. It was next door to Lou Sweet’s Grocery Store, where I worked through high school and my first year at the University of Texas.

I got the job at Renfro's because my parents knew or was related to someone who worked for the company. This friend or relation was an accountant, I believe, and he and his family lived on the second floor of the company's store on South Congress across from Fulmore Junior High School. We visited them there a few times.

I made hamburgers and sandwiches, and mixed a variety of drinks. For fountain drinks such as Coca Cola and Dr Pepper, we would squirt in a concentrated syrup and then add carbonated water. We also made malts, shakes, and floats. The only flavors on the menu for malts were chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. One day when I wasn't too busy, I created a new malt for myself that became my all-time favorite: a Dr Pepper malt.

Our malts were made with only the best ice cream. Milk was added to give it the right consistency. For my new invention I replaced the milk with half and half cream. There were probably tons of calories in that drink, but no one thought about that back then. Mmm.

I'd forgotten about that time in my life until back in 2010 Celeste and I had a long weekend at a B and B in Glen Rose, Texas. We drove from there to Dublin since I love Dr Pepper and it was only about forty miles away.

Dublin Bottling Works Museum
March 27, 2010

Back then, Dublin was where you could get Dr Pepper made with Imperial pure cane sugar instead of the high fructose stuff normally used in sodas.

It was fun visiting the combination museum and old time fountain. I told the man behind the fountain about the Dr Pepper malt I had invented, and he said they make them all the time. I ordered one and the memories poured in. I was a teenager again. I savored that drink and thought of Austin the way it was in the fifties.

Dublin Dr Pepper is not readily available any more following an agreement with Snapple who now owns the brand and the secret recipe, but the museum is there and they might even make you a Dr Pepper malt.

For more information see: http://www.dublinbottlingworks.com/ and http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2012-03-01/feature5.