The Doctors

These sodas have apparently followed in the footsteps of their model and finished the coursework required to receive a degree. Unfortunately, not all are held to the same standards. Note how many of their manufacturers failed to notice that there is no period in "Dr Pepper".

Since this list has expanded beyond my wildest expectations, I have decided to split the list of Doctors into three parts. Sodas are listed alphabetically, starting below. If you'd like to skip ahead, follow one of these links:

Start with Dr K | Start with Dr S

Country Doctor
  • Fareway
  • Fareway, Iowa City, IA
Doctor
  • Nash Finch Co. (Our Family)
  • Econo Foods, Junction City, KS (first can) & Hudson, WI (third can)
  • Hinky Dinky, Falls City, NE (second can)
Dr. A+
  • Albertsons
  • Albertsons, Stillwater, OK (first can); Topeka, KS (second and third cans)
  • This variety has been replaced by Dr. Bold (see below)
Dr. Aahh
  • Giant Eagle
  • Giant Eagle, Lewis Center, OH
  • Congratulations to Mr. aahh on earning his degree! That's an accomplishment that lives up to the label's claim, "cool & refreshing."
Dr. B
  • HEB, the supermarket chain founded by Mr. H.E. Butt
  • HEB, Cleburne, TX (older cans), Eagle Pass & Big Spring, TX (newer cans)
Dr. Bash
  • Basha's
  • Submitted by Mitch Teich, Flagstaff, Arizona.
  • Not available in 2003, the last time I was in Arizona, Dr. Bash is a welcome addition to the practice.
Dr Becker
  • Blue Sky Natural Beverage Co.
  • Dominick's, Rolling Meadows, IL (first can); Dillon's, Lawrence, KS (20th Anniversary can); Whole Foods, Columbus, OH (newer can); unsure where the newest one came from
  • This company has to be commended for their clever combination of the usual Blue Sky design with the diagonal name and maroon stripe observed on a somewhat more famous beverage, at least on their older cans. Since the company makes "all natural" beverages, artificial flavors, preservatives, and caffeine are absent from their Dr impersonator. It's surprisingly not bad, considering the lack of good, unhetitlehy ingredients.
Dr. Best
Dr. Blast
  • Patriot's Choice (U.S. Military Exchanges) by Custom Beverages
  • Submitted by "Dr" Kenton Bell
Dr. Bob
  • Foodhold USA
  • Brunos, Griffin, GA; Tops, Sandusky, OH, Bi-Lo, somewhere in S. Carolina (thanks Mom & Dad!)
  • Three chains that once proudly sold their own Dr now have signed on to a new variety. All are part of the Dutch company Ahold, which owns several Eastern chains, making it likely that Dr. Bob will take over for a few other venerable old sodas in the future, if he hasn't already.
Dr. Bold
  • Albertsons
  • Albertson's, Walla Walla, WA (1st can); Jewel, Rolling Meadows, IL (2nd can)
  • Albertson's ditched their Dr. A+ in favor of a Bold new contender. Besides these two versions, one from Albertson's-owned Acme also exists and will be added once someone I know goes to Philadelphia.
Dr. Buzz
  • Save-On-Foods
  • Save-On-Foods, Edmonton, AB
  • Knowing that the Save-On-Foods chain is headquartered in Vancouver, the name of this beverage makes perfect sense, as does the fact that drinking it gives me the munchies.
Dr. Cane
  • Real Soda in Real Bottles Ltd.
  • Jungle Jim's, Fairfield, OH
  • Like Doctor Dublin below, Jungle Jim's sells several selections from Real Soda, a wonderful resource for one-of-a-kind and hard-to-find sodas from around the world. "Cane" is a reference to the cane sugar used in place of HFCS, the sweetener the major bottlers were bullied into using by Big Corn.
Dr. Celeste
  • The Pantry
  • The Pantry, Drakesboro, KY (courtesy of James Schul)
  • Though not mandated by the FDA, the can clearly states that this beverage contains 0% juice. It also boasts a 49¢ "special" price, so whatever they're substituting for juice must be pretty valuable.
Dr. Cheaper
  • The Customer Company
  • Submitted by "Dr" Kenton Bell
Dr. Cheer
Dr. Chek
  • Deep South Products (Chek)
  • Thriftway, Fairfield, OH
  • Also seen at Winn Dixie stores throughout the South
  • The can design for Dr. Flavor is remarkably similar, though so far I know of no connection between the two.
Dr. Chill
Dr. Choice
  • Associated Wholesale Grocers (Best Choice)
  • Food 4 Less, Lawrence, KS (old version) (courtesy of Scott and Stephanie Roper); Raney's Supermarket, Carthage, MO (new version)
  • Until the November, 1999, revision, this page stated my opinion that the Dr. Choice can on the left "is quite possibly the ugliest metal object in existence". Maybe someone from Associated Wholesale Grocers saw that, because they redesigned the can, though it's probably just a coincidence. I am pleased with the new can, though. And it tastes pretty good, too.
Dr. Choice
  • Compass Foods (America's Choice)
  • Super Fresh, Pennsville, NJ
  • Not related to Dr. Choice above. I checked several Super Fresh stores on a recent trip to the East Coast, and never found this in cans. Other America's Choice beverages came in cans, though, which could mean one of two things: either Dr. Choice is not a big seller, or people who like it like a lot of it at once.
Dr. Cool
Dr Dazzle
  • ALDI
  • ALDI, Marion, OH (first brought to my attention by Austin Carey)
  • ALDI had been rumored to have another version, Dr Sweet, for years, but I never found it. After dozens of fruitless visits to ALDIs in several states, I had given up until alert correspondent Austin pointed me towards this one right in my back yard. Thanks!
Dr. Dazzle
Dr Delight
Dr. Denali
  • Admiral Beverage Corp.
  • Chevron station near Pocatello, ID (first bottle)
  • Kum & Go, Rawlins, WY (second bottle)
  • A trip all the way to Alaska took me to Denali National Park and gave me a couple views of its namesake mountain, but no Dr. Denali...until I found some in a couple of c-stores in the Rocky Mountains on the drive home. Admiral Beverage bottles Pepsi products, and since Coke bottlers in their marketing territory bottle Dr Pepper, Admiral concocted this substitute for their lineup. Since the regular bottle I found was deeply discounted, and the diet had expired 4 months prior to my purchase, I still haven't worked up the courage to try either of them.
Doctor Dublin
  • Real Soda in Real Bottles Ltd.
  • Jungle Jim's, Fairfield, OH
  • Like Dr Cane above, Doctor Dublin uses real cane sugar as a sweetener. "Dublin" refers to a town in Texas, the only place where Dr Pepper is still bottled according to the orginal recipe using cane sugar. Both this and Dr. Cane were probably limited-release products from the Real Soda folks.
Dr. Duck
Dr Dynamite
Dr Extreme
  • Harris Teeter (Premier Selection)
  • Harris Teeter, Charlottesville, VA (first can submitted by "Dr" Kenton Bell)
Dr Faygo
  • Faygo
  • Lovejoy's Market, Plain City, OH (widely available)

  • Finally! Soon after I began this obsession hobby back in the mid-90s, I placed a call to the fine people of Faygo, asking why they weren't in on the action. After all, their major competitor Shasta had a solid entry, not to mention all of the private-label stuff out there. The reaction of the company bigwig (or possibly receptionist) to whom I spoke was "Huh. I don't know. Maybe we will." Buoyed by such promising news, I waited at my favorite supermarket for the delivery of the new beverage. And waited. And called back. And added Faygo to the list of noncompliant beverage companies. And gave up.

    Then I learned that, years ago, the company had produced a "Dr Faygo" black cherry or cherry cola soda, which failed to catch on. Well, OF COURSE it failed! The discerning palate of a Dr Knockoff connoisseur would not have been amused by a mouthful of cherry! So I was floored when, for some unknown reason, I found myself in the Faygo section of a small-town store and discovered a 12-pack of this in the Faygo display. Apparently getting something THIS GOOD to market takes a minimum of 11 years. It is humbling to know that, if not for that fateful call all those years ago, legions of Faygo drinkers would never have had the singular pleasure of consuming this fine beverage.
Dr. Fine
  • Western Family Foods, Inc (Shur Fine)
  • Conoco station, Jacksboro, TX (first can)
  • Wade's Market Center, Victor, NY (second can)
  • Unknown store, somewhere in Texas (third can)
Dr Fizz
  • Cardinal Beverages (now apparently bought out by Cott Corp.)
  • Big Lots, Delaware, OH (probably because the manufacturer is now defunct)
  • Not to be confused with Dr. Fizz (below), this version, from the Mr. Fizz line of beverages, is also a better-than-average attempt at duplicating the original, titlehough if you don't have it yet, you probably aren't going to find it anywhere.
Dr. Fizz
  • Fitz's Bottling Co.
  • Roubidoux Beverage warehouse, on I-70 west of Warrenton, MO
  • The Fitz's line of microbrewed sodas includes several tasty varieties, and now includes a bold Dr-knockoff as well. Actually, the line may have included it in the past under a different name. Hip Hop Pop, a so-called "raspberry cola", is no more, and Dr. Fizz seemingly has taken its place, wearing an almost identical label. Unfortunately, I could find no Hip Hop Pop with which this new variety could be compared, and the many years of providing this valuable service have taken their toll on my taste buds, so I am not certain that Dr. Fizz and Hip Hop Pop are one and the same. My heart tells me they're different, though only the folks at Fitz's know for sure.
Dr. Flavor
  • Economy Wholesale Distributors, Inc (Central Valley)
  • A supermarket in Dale, IN (courtesy JCS)
  • Though the can design looks exactly like that of Dr. Chek, there isn't any obvious connection between Economy Wholesale Distributors and Winn-Dixie. It was reported earlier that the can came from Holiday Foods, though the Holiday Foods in Santa Claus, IN (near the point of purchase) did not carry this line of beverages.
Dr Foots
Dr Fresh
  • Marsh Supermarkets
  • Marsh, Hamilton, OH
  • It looks like the lobbying finally paid off. No doubt embarrassed by their inclusion on this site's list of shame, the fine people of Marsh unveiled a knockoff of their own in 2000.
Dr. Good Guy
  • Kalil Bottling
  • Stuckey's, middle of nowhere on I-40 west of Amarillo, TX
  • Finding this was totally unexpected, and I was pretty impressed with myself until I arrived in Phoenix a couple days later and found it for sale in most supermarkets. There's a Diet Dr. Good Guy as well.
Dr. Gulpster
  • Southland Corporation (Classic Selection)
  • 7-Eleven, Tonawanda, NY
  • Though other Classic Selection beverages are available at all 7-Eleven stores, this one is not distributed in much of the country (including Chicago, East Texas, and Kansas City). I've never seen it in a can, so if anyone can find one for me I'll pay top dollar for a can in good condition.
Doc Holiday
  • Home Beverages
  • Purchased by my parents online from somewhere, possibly here.
  • It may no longer be available since a former distributor, Ol' Bob Miller's, no longer lists it (as of late 2004). It tastes ok, but the cans leak. One was empty when the package arrived, and another slowly ruined the finish on the top of a wood cabinet where I store some of my collection.
Dr. HyTop
  • Federated Group (HyTop)
  • Super H Foods, Vinita, OK (first can), Brookshire's, Ashdown, AR (second can--thanks James!)
  • This was formerly known as Dr. Topper
  • For whatever reason, the manufacturer thinks it's important to notify the consumer that this beverage is artificially flavored. I sincerely hope they all are.
Dr. Hy-Vee
  • Hy-Vee
  • Hy-Vee, Lawrence, KS (first can) and Milan, IL (second can)
  • For a chain that has come up with clever names for some of its other beverages, this one is surprisingly lame.
Dr. IGA
  • IGA
  • Willard's IGA, Osawatomie, KS
  • I understand that not all IGA stores choose to carry the company's soda line, and some have avoided Dr. IGA. If you can't find it locally, pester your store manager.
Dr. Joe's
  • Trader Joe's
  • Submitted by Matt Preston
  • NLA? A recent (2002) visit to a Trader Joe's in Columbus turned up a few store-brand sodas on the shelves but no Dr. Joe's.

On to Drs. K through R
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Text and presentation copyright Dave Schul (dave@roadmaps.org), 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997. "Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" is a trademark of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

Last updated July 27, 2008