Dublin, Texas: The Oldest Dr Pepper Bottler in the World

Dublin, Texas claims Irish heritage in its name and a carbonated drink in its identity. When Sam Houston Prim arrived here in eighteen ninety-one with six hundred eighty dollars' worth of bottling equipment, he established what became the oldest surviving Dr Pepper bottler in the United States.

For decades Dublin was the last place in the country still making Dr Pepper with pure cane sugar from Texas-based Imperial Sugar, long after the rest of the country had switched to high-fructose corn syrup. That distinction made Dublin Dr Pepper a cult product, shipped by mail order to devotees nationwide. In twenty twelve, Dr Pepper Snapple ended the franchise agreement after one hundred twenty years. The renamed Dublin Bottling Works continues operating as an independent company. Dublin still celebrates its Irish roots each March with a Saint Patrick's Day Shamrock Festival.