How to Make Your Own Dr Pepper During the COVID-19 Soda Shortage

The COVID-19 slowdown has caused plenty of product shortages, like Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, bicycles and toilet paper. The latest victim: Dr Pepper soda.

Dr Pepper, now owned by the Keurig coffee company, confirmed the problem on its Twitter feed. They said they are working with "distribution partners to keep shelves stocked nationwide," and added:

We appreciate your patience and encourage you to contact your local retailer directly for the most up-to-date availability of Dr Pepper products.

According to the local distributor for Dr Pepper in SE Minnesota, Gillette Pepsi, they are not having a problem keeping their soda products stocked in our area, but if there is a DP shortage in your town, you could search far and wide at grocery stores, gas stations, convenience markets, and elsewhere. Or you could get to work and concoct your own version, just the way Brooklyn-born pharmacist Charles Alderton did in Waco, Texas back in the 1880s when he invented the soft drink.

Here are the 23 flavors that when mixed together get you Dr Pepper (which started with a period in its brand, but ditched the punctuation in the 1950s):

• cola
• cherry
• licorice
• almond
• vanilla
• blackberry
• apricot
• blackberry
• caramel
• pepper
• anise
• sarsaparilla
• ginger
• molasses
• lemon
• plum
• orange
• nutmeg
• cardamon
• all spice
• coriander
• juniper
• birch
• prickly ash

Good luck getting the mixture just right. You wouldn't want to "over-birch."