"Bottled Up" documentary

Are you a fan of Dr Pepper?  Do you like what the company stands for or are you in it just for the taste?  I discovered something this week that I want to share.

It's a documentary released in 2013, shortly after Dr Pepper/Snapple Corporate forced Dublin Dr Pepper to shut down.  I wish I'd found this years ago.  It's been eight years and I'm curious what has happened since then to the people and the town of Dublin, Texas.

What is Dublin Dr Pepper?  It goes back to 1891 when Dr Pepper, made with real cane sugar, was first bottled and sold in Dublin, Texas.  Eventually High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) became a cheaper alternative to cane sugar and the Dr Pepper brand switched to HFCS.  Except for Dr Pepper bottled in Dublin, which kept the cane sugar and with it the soda's original taste.  And that's what made Dublin Dr Pepper and Dublin, Texas, legend.

Life and business was good in Dublin until 2011 when Dr Pepper/Snapple Corporate stepped in and pulled the plug on the now-legendary Dublin Dr Pepper for their various legal reasons.  How does a small town that revolves around one product survive when that product is taken away?  Or can it survive?

After losing the short David vs Goliath legal battle (if you can even consider it a battle), the Dublin Bottling Works came up with a plan B to keep the business alive.  It's great to see how "the little guy" picked up the pieces to move on.

And then in 2013 things heated up at Dublin's annual fair called the Birthday Celebration when Dr Pepper Corporate showed up to promote their own version of soda made with the real sugar called Dr Pepper with Imperial Sugar.

This really is a bunch of mini-documentaries in one.  It features:

• A history of Dr Pepper
• Dublin Dr Pepper bootlegging
• The hidden Dr Pepper museum at the time, now there's a public museum
• Corporate Dr Pepper vs Dublin Dr Pepper

As of the posting of this blog, you can stream "Bottled Up" on Prime Video free w/a subscription or free on Tubi.

Does the documentary make you root for "the little guy" of Dublin, Texas?  Yes.  Is Dr Pepper/Snapple given a chance to tell their side of the story?  Yes.  Is Corporate's story told from a different perspective?  Yes.  Which side is correct?  That's what you have to decide when you watch this very informative and entertaining documentary.