Dr. Pepper Vs. Dr. Thunder: Less Taste for Less Cost?

I've been a fan of Dr. Pepper my whole life. I love the sweet taste of it and serve it to me as a fountain drink and I'm in heaven. Every day on my way to work, I stopped at the convenience store and bought a twenty ounce to drink in the car. My commute was about a half hour and by the time I got to work, I'd be ready to buy one from the machine. At home, I kept the two liters stocked in the fridge and ran through them like crazy.

I've since retired from that job. Being at home meant running through even more soda. I'm addicted, I know, but that's the way it is. Dr. Pepper was my drink of choice and only on rare occasions did I buy something different such as Pepsi or Coke.

We moved a few years ago. Last summer my new landlords hosted a cookout on the fourth of July for the complex I lived in and the whole block. In an effort to save money, a Sam's Choice soda was served. It was called Dr. Thunder, comparable to Dr. Pepper. Being outside and not wanting to run home to get my own, I tried the Dr. Thunder and was amazed at how close it tasted to the Dr. Pepper. The main difference was that the Dr. Thunder had just a little bit more of a sweet taste to it. I liked it and was told it was a lot cheaper and was purchased at Sam's Club.

I'm not a member of Sam's Club. I have a family of three and I've never had a need or desire or the room for that matter to buy in bulk. As a result, a membership has never appealed to me and I wasn't about to pay for one just for the sake of saving some money on soda. That was fine. The Dr. Pepper, to me, did still taste a little better than the Dr. Thunder and changing wasn't something I wanted to do anyway.