REVIEW: Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream

When the folks at Dr Pepper aren’t busy at the soda fountain mixing together as many random flavors as they can while still having their beverage be palatable (somehow 23 is the magic number), they apparently dabble in berry farming. In 2006 Dr Pepper released Berries & Cream and 2019 saw Dr Pepper Dark Berry. The latest trip to the patch brings us Strawberries & Cream. This variety, with its pink label and strawberry flavor, seems like it would make a good limited edition for Valentine’s Day, but it’s actually set to be a permanent addition to the lineup.

The first whiff upon opening the bottle is definitely strawberry forward. It reminds me more of strawberry candy than a real strawberry, but as someone who eats more strawberry candies than the fruit, I don’t necessarily consider that a bad thing. The semi-spicy, peppery kick that makes Dr Pepper unique isn’t totally lost to the strawberry and cream flavors, although it is more muted here. I found the flavors smooth and very drinkable, but I wish something stood out more. Despite being tasty, it was sort of underwhelming.

I think the cream could be more pronounced, and maybe also the Dr Pepper. Something about this falls flat for me, which leads me to my next issue – it’s literally a bit flat. I tried this straight out of the bottle and poured it over ice, and it seemed less carbonated than usual. There was a slight initial fizz, but it disappeared right away. I don’t know if this is something to do with the formula or if I just got an odd batch, but I missed the bubbles.

I appreciate Dr Pepper leaning into old-timey soda fountain themes and I think this new concoction would be an excellent base for an ice cream float. As a stand-alone drink, it lacks something, and I’m not sure I’d have chosen it for a full-time product. Considering there are few mainstream strawberry sodas on the market, I can see fans of that flavor really enjoying this. But it’s worth noting that the other person who tried it with me found the strawberry aspect to be medicinal tasting. I’ll look back on this as a pleasant novelty drink, but to me, it’s just not the cream of the crop.

It’s worth noting this also comes in a zero sugar version. Dr Pepper has a history of excelling with these alternatives, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available at my store yet.

Purchased Price: $2.29
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 250 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, 66 grams of total carbs, 65 grams of total sugars (incl. 65 grams of added sugars), and 0 grams of protein.

21 thoughts to “REVIEW: Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream”

  1. the only thing underwhelming is this review. this soda is easily the best flavor extension of the dr pepper family. the strawberry candy and cream flavors are both prominent and you get the spiciness of the dr pepper. the carbonation is the same as with any other dr pepper. this is absolutely solid addition to the permanent lineup.

    1. Just because a reviewer doesn’t care much for any particular product, that doesn’t inherently make the review, itself, a bad one. ME, YOU seem to have it in for everyone on here who has anything bad to ever say about a carbonated beverage. Do you work for the Soda Production industry, by any chance, Grumpy Pants? (HA…that ended up unintentionally rhyming.)

      1. I actually agree with Me though. Although I’m undoubtedly heavily biased because I absolutely love this flavor.

    2. I love the strawberry cream Dr.Pepper and for those who haven’t seen them yet and love peeps the Dr pepper one is really good

      1. Love the strawberry cream Dr.pepper,
        I really didn’t expect much when I tried it,but I got a bottle put it in the freezer until it gets to the point of almost slushy but not. The way I like it . And wow, I loved it.
        It wasn’t overly strong or sweet just in my opinion that perfect strawberry flavor with dr.pepper mixed in. As I say everyone has an opinion and you gotta judge for yourself not listen to some random dude to do it for you ,how do they really know what you are going to like. “It’s their opinion “

  2. Other reviews I have read have said that this tastes more like a strawberry soda which I’m really excited for. Strawberry soda was my favorite as a kid and I have not had it in years as it’s not easy to find. I’m going to give us a fair try.

    1. I hope you find this soon and get to try it! Like I said, I can see people really liking this flavor. I’m hoping to try it again myself to see if I get one with a little more carbonation because I think that would have improved it for me. Maybe cans instead of plastic bottles are the way to go?

      1. Was just ok. Wouldn’t really know it was a strawberry flavor unless I looked at the bottle. I was very excited to try as I am a huge DP fan, but I won’t bother buying this again. Fun to try though.

    2. Best combination yet needs to be a regular on shelves .tastes like drinking a strawberry shortcake .please consider this as a regular on shelves I’ll definitely be buying it

  3. Zero Sugar version, ice cold, right out of the can, undiluted with ice. I don’t taste much Dr. Pepper, but that’s not a negative for me in this case. I was a huge fan of the original Berries and Cream and this isn’t quite as good. Something about the strawberries…not exactly strawberry candy…maybe more like strawberry quik or the flavor of crunchberries…but in a good way. No diet aftertaste. And my cans have had a normal amount of carbonation.

    1. I’ve seen a bunch of people say the zero sugar flavor is better than the regular one. If I ever get lucky enough to find it around my city, I can’t wait to see.

      1. I am diabetic and only buy zero sugar in sodas. Tried this one, and HOLY BAT BALLS, totally awesome. I’m glad its permanent as it gives me a variety of flavors (not just DP) to enjoy.

  4. The strawberry and cream Dr pepper is amazingly good I can taste both flavors. Have been waiting for the strawberry to come out since I had the strawberry Dr.Pepper fountain drink. Way to go .
    ALSO IF YOU LIKE PEEPS
    THE DR PEPPER ONE IS AWESOME

  5. 7 out of 10 sounds about right. Maybe 8 out of 10. It does taste more like strawberry candy than strawberry, though strawberry can be hard to mimic sometimes. I was expecting something similar to the flavors of a straight strawberry soda, where the flavor profile is more bright and sweet, but I didn’t really get that either. I saw elsewhere someone say it tastes like you mixed Strawberry Nesquick with Dr. Pepper and I think that’s a good description. I didn’t pick up much cream flavor either but that wasn’t a deal breaker. It was still pretty decent drink and would go back for more

  6. I had one very good 12 pack (Zero), went back and bought another. Awful. Barely any flavor at all, night and day difference. It seems to be a bottling inconsistency issue. So unfortunate because I loved it at first, but not enough to waste $7 seeing if it would be good again.

    1. That’s so disappointing! I’ve still being looking to try the zero but was hesitant to commit to a 12 pack and now I’m even moreso.

  7. Diabetic T2, the only thing I drink are diet or zero sugar sodas. This one is particularly bad. Strong chemical/artificial taste. Couldn’t drink it, not even ice cold.

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