Hot Dr Pepper

"Like a slice of lemon, a slice of music can also be a pick-me-up that'll never let you down. All you've got to do is remember your three Z's - ZIP, ZING, & ZEST!"- from the back cover.

Things found in the back of an old drawer season continues...

Picked this Dr Pepper sponsored LP up for $1 at a market in Southern Illinois years ago hunting for obscure sampling material.

It didn't disappoint, opening with 'A special message form Dick Clark' advising fans to try a new Christmas treat: 'Hot Dr. Pepper, and don't forget to try it with a slice of lemon.'

Got some nice samples off it but I never got round to trying my Dr Pepper hot, why would I want to heat it up anyway?

With a script straight out of Mad Men, somewhere in early sixties America a fizzy drinks marketing maverick decided that Dr Pepper could sell twice as many bottles by telling folks it tasted just as good boiling hot (with a slice of lemon of course) as it did ice cold.

Witness this sixties TV ad to see just how easy it was for everyday people like you and me to make.

Toasty slogans were created: "Clever people who enjoy something different - devilishly different and delicious - will welcome this exciting Winter Warmer... Hot Dr Pepper!"

Print departments went into overdrive designing cutesy magazine ads while the album above illustrated how much fun can be had when holding a glass of hot Dr Pepper.

So 50 years later why are we not gathering around log fires with high fashion knitwear drinking hot fizzy Dr Pepper's instead of mulled wine?

Got my own theories on its demise, but before prejudging I'm going to buy some Dr Pepper, pour it into a saucepan 'til steaming then add a slice of lemon to see for myself.

Anyone else got the ZIP, ZING and ZEST to try it too?