Posted 2/20/2006 05:53:00 PM by Douglas

Dr. Pepper or Coke, one thing is certain: Sugar tastes better than high fructose corn syrup and everyone knows it.

There's at least one place where the iconic caramel-colored fizz of American Coca-Cola doesn't reign supreme, and it's deep in the heart of Coke country.

At Las Tarascas Latino Supermarket, 30 miles from the soft drink giant's world headquarters in Atlanta, store manager Eric Carvallo adjusts prized bottles of Mexican Coke displayed at the front of the store.

He then points over his shoulder to a noticeably smaller display of American Cokes tucked in the corner.

Carvallo says his store goes through 10 to 15 cases of Mexican Coke a week – his entire stock – while he's barely able to push five cases of the domestic version.

"Sometimes I have it left over," he said of the domestic Coke he orders. "Sometimes a case, case and a half. So it's a lot of difference."

Taste is the main reason why his discriminating shoppers buy Mexican Coke – they say the cane sugar sweetener used in Mexican Coke has a sweeter, cleaner flavor than the high-fructose corn syrup in the American version. Many are willing to pay $1.10 per 12-ounce bottle for the imports, even with cans of American Coke sitting nearby for 49 cents each.

"You drink it and taste it – it's something you tasted all your life," said Carvallo, referring to the many immigrants who prefer Mexican Coke.

Hey, if corn syrup is bad, it's bad. Don't blame this on the Mexicans. If only there was another example of an original bottler that held on to the cane sugar model. Better still if it were in Texas. Oh wait, there is, and it's in Dublin, Texas.

At least one American bottling plant has found success catering to soda gourmets who prefer cane sugar sweeteners.

The Dublin Dr Pepper bottling plant in Texas has been producing Dr Pepper using the original cane sugar recipe for 114 years as the soft drink's first franchise bottler.

The bottler's creative director, Jeff Pendleton, said its allegiance to the original recipe while selling the drinks at regular Dr Pepper prices has been less profitable for the small, family-owned operation but has earned it a strong following.

"Profit is a factor, but it's not the only factor," Pendleton said. "Sticking with quality has been beneficial to us. The idea to sell more for a lower price and use cheaper ingredients, that's what everybody else does."

I defy anyone that's ever had a real Dr. Pepper to say they can't tell the difference, and that a corn syrup coke doesn't taste like a dog's ass in comparison. But there's American Marketing for you at its very best: Give 'em dog's ass, because it will save us 1.7¢ per truckload, and 84.4% of the masses won't tell the difference, anyway.